What lies on the third side of the coin? Join us for a discussion next Thursday with Joe Cribb, Robert Bracey and Marzbeen Jila to find out more! #coins #numismatics

For this month's #MotM, we have this Malay manuscript relating to the Javanese divinatory calendar #pawukon, which is typically illustrated with intriguing illustrations in Javanese shadow puppet style. (Raffles Malay 41)

🔍The Society's coin collection is now searchable in the online catalogue - read more about the collection in our latest blog post! #numismatics royalasiaticsociety.org/reminder-for...

On Friday 7 Nov, as part of our Japanese Studies lecture series, photographer and author Bashar Tabbah will take us on a visual tour of #Japan’s most incredible castles - join us in exploring the beauty of these architectural delights! Details: tinyurl.com/ras-251107

This evening!

📢 Upcoming lectures and book launches at the RAS! All events are free and open to all. For details, visit: royalasiaticsociety.org/lectures-eve...

New publication of a Persian moral miscellany, recap on October events and updates on our website - read more about these in our latest blogpost! royalasiaticsociety.org/new-book-eve...

Tomorrow the 25th we will be joining other heritage professionals to explore Myanmar’s art and heritage at this free event co-organised by V&A and the British Museum. Join us to discover more about our Burmese manuscripts and the country’s other cultural traditions!

This evening - join us at the RAS or online!

Happy Diwali to everyone who is celebrating! This artwork depicts Lord Rama slaying the many-headed demon Ravana in battle, one of the legends connected to this popular Hindu festival. (Artwork 066.006)

How did the evolving climate impact civilisations in Asia throughout history? What role does it play in the future prosperity of Asia? Join us for a lecture by Prof Peter Clift from UCL Earth Sciences @es-ucl.bsky.social to find out more! Details: tinyurl.com/ras-251030

For our upcoming lecture on Thu 23 Oct, Prof Usha Vijailakshmi will explore the rich legacy and contemporary role of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai. Come join us! Details: tinyurl.com/ras-251023

This evening! If you would like to join us online, email [email protected] for a link.

For our upcoming lecture on Wed 22 Oct, Dr Liz Driver will take us back to early C19th #India and look at the achievements and failures of two Governors of Bombay and the Wellesley brothers. Details: tinyurl.com/ras-251022

Ringing bells, chanting voices, beating drums – there is a multitude of sounds accompanying the procession of an Indian prince in this drawing. Let’s bring on the music! (Artwork 050.001)

New blogpost paying tribute to our member, Raymond Head, the creator of the Society's catalogue or art collections who sadly passed away last month: royalasiaticsociety.org/remembering-...

🌟 What can your #zodiac sign tell you? Phrommachat is a type of Thai divination manual traditionally used for fortune-telling and match-making, and contains information about each of the 12 zodiac animals... (RAS Thai MS 10B)

Upcoming lecture on 9 October by Prof Tirthankar Roy on the debate over state building in Bengal and the wider institutional reforms in late-18th century India. Details: tinyurl.com/ras-251009

Latest blogpost on an interesting item in our Archives - a dinner menu for the 1889 International Congress of Orientalists. Check out how iconic dishes around the globe are celebrated in different ancient and modern Asian languages! royalasiaticsociety.org/language-and...

An overview of what's on in October at the RAS - a series of exciting public lectures and book launch events coming up and we hope to see you there! Details: royalasiaticsociety.org/lectures-eve...

Happening this evening!

Did you know #PinkFloyd’s song ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ has a connection with Chinese poetry? The line 'One inch of love is one inch of shadow' was inspired by a poem by Li Shangyin, translated into English by Welsh scholar Angus Charles Graham. (Archives ACG)

The April edition of our Journal is now available online! Seven articles are free for anyone to read via Open Access. From Indian nationalism to the Islamic tradition of renunciant piety, we hope there will be something that inspires you! royalasiaticsociety.org/april-editio...

Upcoming lecture on Thursday, 25 Sept on the #Zoroastrian communities in India and Iran and Britain's role in their relationships in the early 20th century. Come and join us! Details: tinyurl.com/ras-20250925

A colossal statue located in the Satpura Range in central India - possibly of Lord Rishabhadeva, a spiritual figure in Jainism. This 84-foot statue stands in its iconic meditative posture among the temples in Bawangaja, an important Jain pilgrimage site. (Artwork 028.001)

New blog post on a Chinese magazine published in China in the 1830s and their interesting contents, including this stunning celestial map of northern constellations - follow the link to read the full post! royalasiaticsociety.org/early-19th-c...

Join us on 18 Sept for a lecture on Dvāravatī studies, where speaker Nicolas Revire will trace how scholarship has framed our understanding of this ancient Buddhist civilisation in present-day Thailand. Details: tinyurl.com/ras-250918

#ManuscriptoftheMonth for this month features a set of 92 rules for writing the Chinese characters correctly, proposed by Sir John Francis Davis in his 1824 essay. The number of rules may seem daunting, but thankfully they are illustrated with examples! (RAS Chinese 9)

We are thrilled to announce a series of public lectures on Japanese studies over 2025-26, co-hosted with the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Details of the opening lecture on 9 September: tinyurl.com/ras0909

Our Fellow Dr Jagjeet Lally, Associate Professor at UCL History Department (@uclhistory.bsky.social), recently appeared in the BBC’s ‘You’re Dead to Me’ podcast series, in an episode entitled ‘India Between Empires: The Long 18th Century’: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

🎉Our 2025-26 Lecture Series is starting next month! Read more about our upcoming lecture on Dvāravatī, an ancient civilisation in present-day Thailand, and the associated items in our collections in this new blog post: royalasiaticsociety.org/upcoming-lec...

British archaeologist Reginald Campbell Thompson was born #onthisday in 1876. He is known for excavating ancient sites in Iraq, notably in the city of Nineveh, where he discovered the remains of the Temple of Nabu.

Recent discovery of two copies of the Imperially Commissioned Illustrations of Tilling and Weaving in our collection. The book was first printed in 1696 in China, and has been widely cherished ever since. Read more in the full post! royalasiaticsociety.org/an-ode-to-or...

🐘It’s #WorldElephantDay today, an occasion celebrated since 2012 to raise awareness about protecting the species. But the idea of saving elephants seems to have a parallel in mythology...as seen in this remarkable painting made in Kathmandu in around 1823. (Artwork 022.066)

Do world religions have more in common than difference? Chinese goddess Pusa depicted as Isis, the Egyptian goddess, sitting on a lotus flower above a stormy sea. By French engraver Bernard Picart. (Artwork 097)

#ManuscriptoftheMonth for this month features a mini encyclopaedia on horses. This example of specialist literature embodies the enduring admiration of horses in traditional Indian culture. (RAS Tod MS 136)

New blogpost giving updates to the Society's artwork cataloguing, digitisation, Bayly Prize and the upcoming book launch: royalasiaticsociety.org/artworks-dig...

🐊A crocodile-shaped zither? Just one of many distinctively shaped instruments featured in traditional Burmese music performances - check these out! (Artwork 025.007-009)

New blogpost looking at the visual depiction of Indian forts and fortifications in our collection, in light of the recent inscription of the Maratha military landscapes as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. royalasiaticsociety.org/visual-depic...

Join us to celebrate the launch of the essay volume ‘The Medieval Mediterranean between Islam and Christianity’ at this free event on 4th August! For further info see: royalasiaticsociety.org/event/book-l... @aucpress.bsky.social

#Ragamala paintings are visual interpretations of ‘ragas’, melodic frameworks for musical composition or improvisation in Indian classical music. These miniature paintings usually portray narrative scenes and are often complemented by poetic descriptions. (Artwork 067)

New blogpost by the Society's President, Dr Norbert Peabody, highlighting the artistic collaboration between the Udaipur court artist Ghasi and Patrick Young Waugh, as seen in our James Tod collection of artworks: royalasiaticsociety.org/placing-udai...

Earliest known photographic records of #Borobudur, the Buddhist temple built in the 9th century in Java. Taken by engraver Isidore van Kinsbergen in the 1870s, they presented to the world a realistic depiction of this awe-inspiring, spiritually significant temple. (Photo 56)

Some good dodo content today @hakluytsociety.bsky.social Editorial Workshop hosted by @royalasiaticsoc.bsky.social . Also excellent papers and discussions of how to edit, read, and share travel writing. #skystorians 🗃️

New blogpost on a recent research visit to our Reading Room regarding two curious Japanese Buddhist albums: royalasiaticsociety.org/henry-faulds...

📖Just published by EUP in partnership with @royalasiaticsoc.bsky.social: the first English translation of Muʿīnī Juvainī's Nigāristān, a Persian moral miscellany.📖 edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-pic...

#Taoism quote for the day: Do not sin in secret. Accumulate virtue, increase merit. Taken from this decoratively bound printed book in our collection, which is an ancient Taoist scripture encouraging people to do good deeds.

#ManuscriptoftheMonth for this month features an illustrated copy of Khwaju Kermani's poem composed in the 14th century, which chronicles the love story between Persian prince Humay and Humayun, daughter of the Emperor of China. See comments for the full story. (RAS Persian 301)

🏆 We are pleased to award the 2025 James J. Busuttil Prize and Medal for Human Rights jointly to Dr Lydia Walker (@lydiawalker.bsky.social) and Dr Sandhya Fuchs. Read the full announcement and the winners’ profiles in our latest blogpost: royalasiaticsociety.org/the-james-j-...

Join us for this fascinating workshop royalasiaticsociety.org/event/the-fu... next week, July 4th at the @royalasiaticsoc.bsky.social! We'll be live-streaming the keynote and panels so do join us online if you can't join in person!