A COLLECTION of intricate Oxford-inspired architecture etched from gold and silver is on show at the Ashmolean Museum.

Architectural silversmith Vicki Ambery-Smith grew up in Oxford and has drawn inspiration from her childhood in the city to create a host of miniature pieces.

The display brings together a collection of jewellery and silverware based on her interpretations of many iconic buildings including the Radcliffe Camera, Sheldonian Theatre, the Clarendon Building, part of the Bodleian Library, All Souls College and Tom Tower.

The 60-year-old silversmith said: “These pieces I made especially for the exhibition and the starting point was the 350th anniversary of the Sheldonian Theatre in 2014.

“The box is based on the Sheldonian Theatre, the stacking boxes based on Magdalen College Tower, and the Radcliffe Camera is a brooch which is flat on the back.

“I have just picked the most iconic buildings in Oxford – Magdalen College is one of the first things you see when you arrive in Oxford.

“With each piece I have played with the proportions so that it reads correctly and is recognisable.

“The larger pieces are boxes but it is not obvious, which was intentional.”

The designer’s jewellery and small tableware include finely detailed interpretations of buildings from all over the world.

She said architecture has provided her with “inexhaustible inspiration” and she has exhibited internationally for over 20 years.

The exhibition at the Ashmolean will run until Sunday, May 15, and on Saturday, April 2, Ms Ambery-Smith will hold a talk at the museum on how the pieces are made.

For many of the exhibits the process entails etching out designs on sheets of silver before folding and constructing them into their iconic form. The Sheldonian Theatre piece opens up to reveal the seating plan etched inside.

Ms Ambery-Smith lived in St John Street when she was growing up and recalled how she would cycle past the inspirational landmarks daily on her route to school at both Headington School and Wychwood School.

She completed an art foundation course at Oxford Polytechnic before it became Oxford Brookes University.

Then she moved to north London where she still lives today.

The pieces in the exhibition were made especially for the Sheldonian Theatre anniversary but on a day-to-day basis Ms Ambery-Smith works on commission pieces.

Ms Ambery-Smith – who has done the work for 35 years – added: “Growing up I thought I would be an architect and theatre designer and now I would say I am a theatrical architect. I do all different things from all over the world but I keep coming back to Oxford.”

The designer’s work has also been shown in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Scottish Museum and Houston University in Texas.