2023 - Extraordinary Endeavours: Two Centuries of the Royal Asiatic Society
In 2023, The Royal Asiatic Society celebrated its bicentenary. To mark this impressive milestone, the Society held an exhibition entitled ‘Extraordinary Endeavours: Celebrating 200 years of Collaboration, Communication and Dissemination.’ Held at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS in London, the exhibition told the story of the development of Asian Studies in Britain as revealed through the Society’s collections, and the scholarly achievements of its members and their associates.
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar, Henry Thomas Colebrooke, on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 ‘for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia’.
The exhibition included rare books, archives, manuscripts, paintings, photographs, and maps from the Society’s collections, and explored how Asian works of literature, art, and religion have made a lasting impression on British culture. The exhibition reflected the extraordinary diversity of the collections donated to the Society by its members and other institutions.
Video: https://royalasiaticcollections.org/bicentenary-exhibition-video/
