Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1997-ongoing (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 archival folder
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir 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'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Administrative history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Adrian David Hugh Bivar, FRAS (1926 - 2015) was a British numismatist and archaeologist, who was Emeritus Professor of Iranian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He specialized in Sasanian seals and rock reliefs, Kushano-Sasanian coins and chronology, Mithraic iconography, Arsacid history and pre-Islamic folklore.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Material for general or limited engagement with the archival collections. These are:
- Correspondence concerning the Papers of John Hansman and David Stronach. Two letters between Michael Pollcok, Royal Asiatic Society Librarian and John Hansman concerning a suitcase of material left by Hansman at the Society. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 28 November 1996-14 January 1997. Further correspondence between Nancy Charley, Royal Asiatic Society Archivist and John Hansman concerning the same material. Two electronic documents, dated 6 February 2018 -14 December 2018. (Archival documents made in 2025).
- Papers of Sir Aurel Stein - Letter from Helen Wang, British Museum to Michael Pollock, Royal Asiatic Society Librarian to send him a copt of the Society's entry into the Handbook to the Stein Collections in the UK. The copy is with the letter. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 14 August 1998. A further letter from A.D.H. Bivar to the Librarian, Royal Asiatic Society requesting a photographic copy of the portrait of Sir Aurel Stein. Typed, 1 piece, dated 16 January 2004.
- List of bound archives - list of minute books and other bound historic archival material. Electronic document, created in 2001; archival document created in 2025.
- Papers of William Claxton Peppé - Correspondence and the draft of a talk concerning the items in these papers and their discovery. Typed, 11 pieces, dated 2003.
- Papers of Brian Houghton Hodgson - An article from the Kantipur Daily, 14 November 2007 concerning some of the discoveries made by Dr Ramesh Dhungal on his initial listing of the Hodgson Papers; an article,'Hodgson's Legacy' which includes brief details of the collections at the Royal Asiatic Society. Typed and scanned, 6 pieces.
- 'Tackling Highly Original Order' by Nancy Charley, Royal Asiatic Society Archivist. concerning the initial sorting of the archival collections. Published in ARC magazine, Archives and Records Association, October 2015.
- 'Opium, Silk and the Missionaries in China' - exhibition brochure for exhibition at the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 2021 in which the letter from Thomas Weeding (East India Company Agent and Independent Merchant) to Captain Harkness, Secretary to Royal Asiatic Society, concerning the gift of the "Grand Chop" or clearance document for the Sarah, the first ship to arrive in England directly from China after the East India Company relinquished its commercial character. was exhibited.