18/06/2026
Today's Art UK theme is 'discovery', celebrating the opening of our new exhibition, 'Wiltshire and the World: John Aubrey and the Quest for Knowledge'.
Throughout his life, John Aubrey was on a quest for knowledge. He grew up in Wiltshire, but his vision was global, expanding what he saw in the local countryside, its people and places, into a wider, interconnected view of the world. From ancient monuments to contemporary ballads, nothing escaped his notice. When Aubrey could not gain first-hand experience, he sought out those who could, consulting and collaborating with a wide range of people. Unconcerned with their background or status, he proudly celebrated the knowledge and experiences they held. This openness to learning from others is reflected in the story behind this work, featured in the exhibition.
In 1682, the arrival of Kaid Muhammed Ben Hadu Ottur, Moroccan Ambassador to King Charles II's court, caused a sensation in London. John Evelyn described the ambassador as 'a handsome person, well featured of a wise look, subtle and extremely civil’. He wore a white woollen mantle wrapped around his head and body, a string of pearls woven into his turban, and carried a rich scimitar. He brought gifts of lions and ostriches. He approached the throne without bowing, 'there being nothing so regular exact and performed with such silence as is on all these public occasions of their country'. The crowd was so overwhelming that officers could maintain order. His visit was the talk of fashionable society, and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
On 30 May, the ambassador dined in Oxford with Elias Ashmole, Aubrey's friend and fellow antiquary. It was there that he shared his remedy for gout: pounded snails applied as a poultice, a medicine 'which they much used in Africa'. Aubrey, who suffered from gout himself, recorded the remedy in his 'Natural History of Wiltshire'. His willingness to recognise and record knowledge from people of all backgrounds and nationalities was central to his method of enquiry and discovery.
🖼️ His Excellency Hamet Ben Hamet Ben Haddii, 1787, engraved by M. Tomkins after a painting by Susannah-Penelope Rosse, engraving on paper, Chippenham Museum
