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The Royal Asiatic Society Medal was instigated in 2000 to replace the Society's Triennial Gold Medal and to be awarded in recognition of an outstanding contribution to scholarship in the field of Asian Studies. A new design for the Medal was sought and this was commissioned from Danuta Solowiej-Wedderburn. The medal took longstanding symbols of the Society and gave them a modern twist. She suggested:

'The starting point for the design of the medal was an article by John Hansman in the Society's Journal of 1984: ‘The Emblems, Medals and Medallists of The Royal Asiatic Society’. I was very inspired by the Daniells’ design of a caparisoned elephant for a signet, first produced in 1824, which was used to seal letters and documents. A simplified version of this design by Professor Perceval Yetts has become the ‘logo’ of the society, stamped on its letter head and on all its publications, and so it was a particularly appropriate image to use. I depicted the signet impressed into the brass as if it were wax, to act as a metaphor for the medal as a ‘seal of approval’. Unlike most Victorian award medals the lettering is incised, this is so that it will blend in with the name of the recipient, which obviously has to be engraved at a later date. In 1823 the Banyan tree was chosen for the society’s official seal by the Council and it has been depicted on previous medals commissioned by the society. It is a magnificent tree and an apt symbol of the society, growing strong and branching out. The medal was cast (rather than struck) which allows for more depth in modelling and I tried to take advantage of that by depicting the tree as a mature and vigorous plant, still growing strongly.' (Email, see details in the catalogue).

The medal was first awarded to John Gullick in 2001 with subsequent awards being made:
2003 – Professor Edmund Bosworth
2006 – Professor Christopher Shackle
2009 – Professor Sir Christopher Bayly
2014 – Dr Bridget Allchin and Professor David Bivar
2019 - Professors Carole and Robert Hillenbrand
2023 – Robert Irwin

The material covered by this catalogue consists of correspondence and administrative documents concerning the setting up of the award and the commissioning of the medal, and the individual awards. There are also photographs of some of the award events and a sample of the medal.

Correspondence and administrative documents concerned with the award of the first Royal Asiatic Society medal to John Gullick in 2001. These are:

• Letter from Giles Tillotson, Director, Royal Asiatic Society, to Adrian Thomas, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to ask for the item 'RAS Award 2001' to be added to the agenda for the Council meeting on 14 June. Handwritten, 1 piece, undated [June 2001].
• 'Nomination for Society's Award: John M. Gullick, Proposed by A.J. Stockwell' - a biography of Gullick with an accompanying list of publications taken from the Journal of the Malay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Part 2, 1999. Typed and photocopy, 6 pieces, dated April 2001.
• Letter from Giles Tillotson to John Gullick to inform him of the Council's decision to award him the new Royal Asiatic Society award which replaces the Society's previous Gold Medal. He asks if Gullick would be willing to come to the Society to receive the medal and give a lecture on a subject of his choice on 10 January 2002. Typed, 1 piece, dated 19 June 2001.
• Letter from John Gullick to Adrian Thomas to acknowledge the receipt of the letter from Giles Tillotson, express his appreciation at the honour, and confirm the date is convenient. He asks for a little time to consider the title of his lecture. Typed with handwritten annotation by Thomas, 1 piece, dated 22 June 2001.
• Letter from John Gullick to Adrian Thomas to confirm the title of his talk as 'An Indian Official in Singapore: Governor Cavenagh (1859-1867)' and also confirm practical details concerning the day. Typed, 1 piece, dated 5 July 2001.
• Letter from Adrian Thomas to Joh Gullick to thank for providing the title and to inform him that he will appraise the President, Professor Stockwell, of Gullick's arrangements for the lecture day. Typed, 1 piece, dated 12 July 2001.
• Letter from Anthony Stockwell, President, Royal Asiatic Society, to John Gullick to express his delight at Gullick's acceptance of the award. He asks if Gullick has a preference for a place for dinner after the presentation and informs that the Society will cover the costs of a hire car. He also asks for names of guests. Typed, 1 piece, dated 30 November 2001.
• Letter from John Gullick to Anthony Stockwell to cover the queries about transport, dinner and guests. Typed, 1 piece, dated 3 December 2001.
• Letter from Anthony Stockwell to John Gullick to confirm the Society will book a taxi for him to get home and to give his telephone numbers in case Gullick needs to contact. Typed, 1 piece, dated 14 December 2001.
• Letter from John Gullick to Anthony Stockwell to thank him for the previous evening's occasion and his receipt of the medal. Typed, 1 piece, dated 11 January 2002.
• Letter from John Gullick to Adrian Thomas concerning the emails of Mr J Kavanagh about Gullick's talk. Typed with handwritten postscript, 1 piece, dated 10 June 2002.
• Letter from Andrew McNad to Adrian Thomas asking whether he would forward a letter to Gullick concerning research about Malay history as he had been unable to attend the award ceremony. Handwritten, 1 piece, dated 20 December 2002.
• Copy of a letter from John Gullick to Hazel Greenberg, The American Forum of General Education, regarding using Gullick's material in the Forum's curriculum guide. There is also a handwritten postscript to Adrian Thomas to thank him for his help. Typed, 1 piece, dated 25 June 2003.