Showing 9 results

Correspondence regarding the potential donation to the Royal Asiatic Society by Mr David Pickup of photograph albums of Iraq in 1929-1930 and the decision to transfer them to the British Library. This includes the transfer document and formal acknowledgement letter from the British Library. 8 items

This archive consists of correspondence, documentation, reports and allied material concerned with the conservation of the Collections of the Society. The Society has not kept comprehensive records throughout its history. Further information pertaining to the conservation of the collections may be found in the Minutes for the meetings of the Council and Library Committees. Conservation continues in the life of the Society. More recent records are held in the Society's records management system and will be transferred to the archive in due course.

The Society has within its collections three Persian manuscripts: the Shahnamah of Muhammad Juki (RAS Persian 239), the Gulistan of Sa‘di (RAS Persian 258), and the Masnavi of Zafar Khan (RAS Persian 310). These are both fragile and of great value. Therefore since 1946 they have been housed at other institutions which are able to provide the necessary care for them, firstly with the British Museum, then the British Library, and currently at the Cambridge University Library.
The material in this subseries concerns the care of these manuscripts:

• Correspondence and documentation concerning the loan of the manuscripts to the British Museum. Typed and printed, 11 pieces, dated 15 April 1946 - 30 December 1965.
• Correspondence between the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the conservation of the Shahnamah of Muhammad Juki manuscript, Typed, 13 pieces, dated 18 June 1992 - 29 September 1993.
• Correspondence between the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the making of microfilm copies of the manuscripts. Typed, 5 pieces, dated 19 October 1993 - 4 November 1993.
• 'RAS Manuscript. Shahnama. Persian MS 239 Conservation Report and Estimate 31 May 1994' - conservation report. Typed, 9 pieces.
• Correspondence between the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the further care of the manuscripts, Typed, 2 pieces, 4 November 1994 -10 August 1999.
• Correspondence, indemnity certificates and valuations for the documents for 1999 and 2002. Typed, printed and handwritten, 14 pieces, dated 7 September 1999 - 12 December 2002.
• Correspondence and documentation between the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of the manuscripts to other exhibitions. Typed, 8 pieces, dated 28 October 2010 - 7 February 2011.
• Loan documentation, indemnity certificate and valuations for the manuscripts for 2014. Typed and printed, 28 pieces.

The Society, in its history, has lent various of its collections to institutions on long term loans either because of specialist care needs of the items or because of a particular interest in the collections by the lending institution. The material in this series is the correspondence and documentation connected with these long term loans.

The possibility of having an in-house conservator was raised in the late 1980s. It was decided that some money would be set aside for this for an initial period of 3 years. Graeme Gardiner was employed from 1989. The initial employment was extended beyond the original period. The archival material consists of reports and correspondence concerned with this employment and the work undertaken.

Correspondence and lists concerned with the transfer of copies of the Ceylon Gazette, Sumarchar Durpan, and Commercial Register and Advertiser (Singapore). Further correspondence and list concerning the transfer of books to the India Office Library at the British Library. Five items.

Correspondence regarding the in-house conservator and conservation at the Royal Asiatic Society:

Correspondence with Camberwell School of Art and Crafts

• Letter from Gillian Roy, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Studies, Camberwell School of Art and Crafts, to Godfrey Goodwin, Royal Asiatic Society, to thank for their meeting and explain arrangements for the School helping the Society by Graeme Gardiner initiating a programme of conservation with a group of students. Typed, 1 piece, dated 12 December 1988.
• Letter from Michael Pollock, Librarian and the Adviser to the Library [Godfrey Goodwin], Royal Asiatic Society, to Robert Acres, Head, Department of Paper Conservation, Camberwell School of Art, concerning conservation work undertaken by Camberwell students. With the letter is a list of items taken to Camberwell for conservation. Typed and handwritten, 2 pieces, dated 31 October 1989.
• Letter from Godfrey Goodwin, Librarian and Curator, Royal Asiatic Society, to Robert Acres, Camberwell School of Art and Crafts, concerning care of items going to Camberwell for conservation. Typed, 1 piece, dated 16 March 1989.
• Letter from Robert Acres to Godfrey Goodwin to thank Goodwin for arranging a visit for conservation students and to praise Graeme Gardiner's progress. Typed, 1 piece, dated 12 February 1991.
• Letter from Godfrey Goodwin to Gillian Roy to send a calendar of the relationship between Camberwell and the Royal Asiatic Society and to confirm the appointment of Graeme Gardiner as conservator. The calendar is with the letter. Photocopy of handwritten and typed, 2 pieces, dated 5 December 1990.

Correspondence regarding the the Shahnamah of Muhammad Juki manuscript (RAS Persian 239)
During this time, the manuscript was housed at the British Library.

• Letter from Don Baker, Conservator, to Michael Pollock, Librarian, Royal Asiatic Society concerning the condition of the manuscript. Typed, 1 piece, dated 15 July 1992.
• Letter from M.I. Waley, Curator for Persian and Turkish, British Library concerning allowing access for James Brockman to view the manuscript. Typed, 1 piece, dated 29 September 1993.
• Memo from the Librarian to the President, concerning James Brockman. Typed, 1 piece, dated 6 October 1993.
• Letter from G.W. Shaw, Deputy Director, British Library, to Professor A.D.H. Bivar, President, Royal Asiatic Society, again concerning access for James Brockman. Typed, 1 piece, dated 5 October 1993.
• Letter from Michael Pollock, Librarian, to James Brockman to send a copy of Don Baker's comments upon the manuscript and to ask him to make arrangements to see the manuscript. Typed, 1 piece, dated 6 October 1993.
• Letter from James Brockman, Book Structures, to Michael Pollock to given his condition report upon the manuscript. Typed, 1 piece, dated 13 October 1993.
• Letter from Michael Pollock to James Brockman to inform that the Society has decided not to proceed with conservation of the manuscript. Typed, dated 15 March 1995.

Other Correspondence

• Letter from A.D.H. Bivar, President, to [Graeme Gardiner] to congratulate him on the successful conclusion of first stage of the work. Typed, 1 piece, dated 7 September 1993.
• Letter from A.D.H. Bivar, President, to Marina Sacalis to thank her for her donation to enable rebinding of Gazetteers relating to India. Typed, 1 piece, dated 7 October 1993.
• Letter from Godfrey Goodwin to David [Bivar] concerning a collapsed bookcase and the need to consider the Library furniture. With the letter are lists concerning rehanging the Society's pictures and moving items to accommodate the new furniture. Handwritten and typed, 4 pieces, dated 3 October 1994.
• Correspondence with Julian E. Reade, Assistant Keeper, British Museum, discussing his concern over the care of some of the Society's collections. Typed, 6 pieces, dated 18 July 1994 - 15 February 1995.
• Correspondence from E.M.B. King, British Library, and Donald W. Insall and Associates, Chartered Architects, concerning plans to build a strongroom. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 23 February - 13 March 1995.
• Letter from Diana Hainsworth to Graeme Gardiner concerning valuation of photographs. Handwritten, 2 pieces, dated 16 January 1997.
• Correspondence from Graeme Gardiner to Helen Cordell, Honorary Librarian, concerning the purchase of protective masks and temporary relocation of the elephant volumes. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 29 March 1999.
• Copy of email from Michael Pollock, Librarian, to Giles Tillotson, Director, concerning the work that Graeme Gardiner had undertaken. Typed, 1 piece, dated 14 November 2000.
• Correspondence from Helen Cordell concerning the remit of work undertaken by the conservator. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 26 June - 29 July 2002.

Material associated with loans from the Society's collections between 1991 and 2000.

• Correspondence between the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of manuscripts for a photographic exhibition of Indonesian manuscripts, 'Golden Letters' to tour major towns in Indonesia. Typed and printed, 22 pieces, dated 11 December 1990 - 28 April 1994.
• Correspondence and documentation between the Asia Society, New York, the British Library, the Kunsthal, Rotterdam and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning loan of material for the exhibition, 'The Court Arts of Indonesia' which first went to the Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, and then travelled to the Netherlands. Typed, printed and photographic, 36 pieces, dated 21 October 1988 - 14 August 1992.
• Letter from Frances Wood, Curator, British Library to Dennis Duncanson, Royal Asiatic Society concerning the possible loan of a Persian manuscript for an exhibition of oriental books and manuscripts illustrating gardens. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 19 June 1992.
• Correspondence between the National Museum, Singapore, and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the possible loan of Malay manuscripts for an exhibition to commemorate the 175th Anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles landing in Singapore. Two pieces, typed, dated 12 October - 20 October 1992.
• Correspondence between the Musée de L'Homme, Paris, and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the possible loan of a Persian manuscript for their exhibition about Herat, Afghanistan. Typed, six pieces, dated 20 September 1995 - 24 November 1995.
• Correspondence, documentation and publicity material between the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of artworks for the 'Royal Persian Paintings: The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925' which opened in 1998. This exhibition then went to the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London and there is some material associated with that exhibition also. Typed and printed, 64 pieces, dated 29 June 1995 - 6 January 1999.
• Correspondence and documentation between the British Museum, Department of Coins and Medals, and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of the portrait of Alexander Cunningham for the exhibition, 'From Persepolis to the Punjab: Coins and the Exploration of the East'. Typed, printed and handwritten, 7 pieces, dated 27 March 1997 - 2 September 1977.
• Correspondence and documentation between the British Museum, Department of Ethnography, and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of manuscripts for an exhibition on Sir Stamford Raffles. Typed and printed, 9 pieces, dated 27 November 1997 - 4 December 1998.
• Correspondence and documentation between the British Museum, the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of items for the 'Persian and Indian Paintings Exhibition from the Royal Asiatic Society Collections' held at the British Library, June - October 1998 to mark the 175th anniversary of the Society. Typed and printed, 35 pieces, dated 20 February - 26 October 1998.
• Correspondence and publicity material between the National Galleries of Scotland and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of 2 paintings for 'The Tiger and the Thistle: Tipu Sultan and the Scots in India, c.1760 -1800' Exhibition. Typed and photocopied, 9 pieces, dated 3 August 1998 - 24 August 1999.
• Correspondence regarding the possible loan of the VHS copy of the Northern Iraq film to be used in a Channel 4 series, 'Lost Worlds'. Typed and photocopied, 3 pieces, dated 13 January 1999.
• Correspondence between the American Museum of Natural History and the Royal Asiatic Society regarding the possible loan of a painting for the 'Body Art: Marks of Identity' Exhibition. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 23 February 1999.
• Correspondence and documentation between the Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery, Powys, Wales and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of manuscripts for their exhibition, 'Major David Price and the East India Company. Typed and printed, 15 pieces, dated 3 August 2000 - 4 April 2001.

Material associated with loans from the Society's collections between 1981 and 1990. These are:

• Correspondence and loan form between the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of manuscripts for the Library's 'The Art of the Book in India' April - August 1982. Four pieces, typed, printed and handwritten, dated 9 September 1981 - 2 April 1982.
• Correspondence between the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of James Wales' portrait of The Maratha Peshwa and Nana Fadnavis and Patrick Waugh's 'Jain Temple at Kumbhalmer' for the Museum's 'India Observed 1700-1860' as part of the Festival of India 1981 -1982. Seven pieces, typed, dated 20 July 1981 - 4 January 1982.
• Correspondence, loan forms and copies of newspaper articles between the Arts Council of Great Britain and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of paintings to the 'In the Image of Man' Exhibition to be held at the Hayward Gallery, March to June 1982. Typed and photocopied, 21 pieces, dated 5 October 1981 - 20 July 1982.
• Correspondence between the Centro Piementose di Studi sul Medio ed Estemo Oriente, Turin, Italy and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of two miniatures for the centre's 'Courtly Life in Rajasthan' Exhibition. Five pieces, typed, dated 12 September 1984 - 23 April 1985.
• Correspondence between the Asia Society, New York, the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of manuscripts for the 'Fatehpur Sikri and the Age of Akhbar' Exhibition to be held at the Asia Society Galleries and then at the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 36 pieces, typed, printed and handwritten, dated 27 June 1984 - 1 April 1986.
• Correspondence and loan forms with the Centre for Asian Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of the Society's Shahnama manuscript for the 'Timur and the Princely Vision' Exhibition to be held in 1989. Handwritten typed and printed, 68 pieces, dated 29 May 1986 - 11 December 1989.
• Correspondence between the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of the Society's Masnavi manuscript for the 'Romance of the Taj Mahal' Exhibition, 1989. Typed and photocopied, 22 pieces, dated 14 August 1987 - October 1989.
• Correspondence from Beth Hatefutsoth, The Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, Israel, to the Royal Asiatic Society concerning possible loan of visual material concerned with Jews in Iraq before 1952. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 18 July - 15 November 1988.
• Correspondence and publicity material between the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of Malay and Javanese manuscripts for the 'Paper and Gold: Illuminated Manuscripts from the Indonesian Archipelago, held July - October 1990. Typed, photocopied and printed, 17 pieces, dated 12 February 1990 - 19 October 1990.
• Correspondence and loan forms between the National Portrait Gallery, London and the Royal Asiatic Society concerning the loan of paintings for the exhibition, 'The Raj: India and the British 1600-1947'. Typed and printed, 22 pieces, dated 31 January 1990 - 23 April 1991.