Fonds SC57 - Copy of the Inscription from the Nestorian Stele, China

Four rubbings on papers + typed explanation

The rubbings, copies of the original ones, were bought at the Museum's Visitors shop in 2006. One bears the authentication stamp in ink.

The rubbings were donated to the Society by Jacob Ghazarian on 20 November 2018.

Four rubbings of the inscription on the Nestorian (Xi'an) Stele, China. This Tang Chinese stele, erected in 781, documents 150 years of early Christianity in China. It is a limestone block 279 centimetres (9 ft 2 in) high with text in both Chinese and Syriac describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China. The four rubbings are of:

• Heading - 40 x 40 cm
• Facing front side - 200 x 90 cm
• Left side thickness of the stone - 200 x 30 cm
• Right side thickness of the stone - 200 x 30 cm

With the rubbings is an explanation of them sent by Jacob Ghazarian.

Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

• chinois
• anglais
• syriaque

Within our Glass Slide Collections there is an image of this stele (Glass Slide.14/(050))

This catalogue was created by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2024.