SOAS Special Collections

We're proud to share our new video giving an overview of SOAS Special Collections and the services we offer - have a look! youtube.com/watch?v=h-H2p_…

These beautiful watercolour illustrations of moths, and their caterpillars is from an Album of Paintings of Insects by Cantonese artist Fatqua (early-mid C19th) #EYAWildlife ow.ly/ZiBz50Yp7yl

This fantastic image of men fishing with cormorants was taken in China by businessman George E Cormack, 1915. Cormorant fishing is a traditional method in which trained birds dive for fish, and it has a long, layered history across East Asia #EYAWildlife

#WomenHistoryMonth An illustrated work portraying Edo‑period women from various social classes, including geishas, townswomen, samurais and sex workers, depicted in everyday life and rendered with a graceful dignity that subtly challenges social norms. (JWP 45B-1)

Fish being sun-dried in Aberdeen, Hong Kong, photographed by Henry Rue in 1910-1913. #EYAWildlife ow.ly/FaPn50Yp6el

When the beauty of a book begins with its cover! A paper collection of woodblock prints with motifs from Chinese flora and fauna by Rong bao Zhai (ANA/1434)

This cheeky monkey in a tree was photographed by anthropologist Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf somewhere in the border region between Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh in 1943. #EYAWildlife ow.ly/boZM50Yp5Ro

Anthropologist, Christoph von Furer Haimendorf was lucky enough to capture a photo of this young wild elephant in upland Kerala in 1953 #EYAWildlife ow.ly/4hzv50Yp501

A beautiful painting of a bird by Wang Guochen, late C19th. #EYAWildlife

This elegant drawing of a crane and her chicks nesting in a pine tree is by Japanese artist Utamoro Kitgawa, late C17th. digital.soas.ac.uk/Documents/Deta… #EYWildlife

Who are better at #EYAConnections but ambassadors! You can view the full 17th Cent. 'Procession of Korean Ambassadors' scroll at ow.ly/WVjU50Y9Pn2 (MS 86566)

This Christian liturgical text, written in Bohairic Coptic with Arabic glosses (MS 13997), shows us how languages meet through the written word! Explore these #connections at digital.soas.ac.uk/Documents/Deta…

Valentine’s Day may have passed, but there’s still time to explore stories of love and #connection in the SOAS Special Collections. Browse our E Coll 5 collection (E Coll 5/450236) for advice from the past! #EYAConnection

Sir Robert Hart, Inspector General of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service became a key figure in the history of China in the 19th century and its foreign relations with the West. Read more here: ow.ly/tIfL50Y9jYN #EYAConnections

Wishing all our readers joy & prosperity as we welcome the Year of the Horse. May the year ahead bring you good fortune & new opportunities! This horse, by Kitao Masayoshi is from his 1813 drawing manual Chōjū ryakugashiki blogs.soas.ac.uk/archives/2019/…

In this blog Professor Niki Alsford unveils Taiwan’s Formosa Church News, a missionary publication that also became a platform for local voices, a tool for linguistic preservation, & a record of Taiwan’s evolving identity. #EYAConnections ow.ly/qRkW50Y9jma

Mikidadi Kichange’s relationship with anthropologist Pat Caplan began during her 1965 fieldwork on Mafia Island & developed into a decades‑long friendship, with the two calling each other 'brother & sister.' Caplan later wrote a biography of Mikidadi in 2014. #EYAConnections

From 1930s Whitechapel, Stencl championed Yiddish through his writing and as editor of Losh un leben, reconnecting refugees, poets and workers across borders. #EYAConnections digital.soas.ac.uk/archives/paper…

Mail art turns the postal system into a creative playground - small works like drawings, collages, stamps, poems, & textiles sent across the world. It’s non‑commercial, open to everyone, and makes communication itself the artwork #EYAConnections #HassanMusa

A 1960 menu from CNCo’s ship Changsha reveals a world of caviar & lobster. But it’s more than a record of opulent dining. Covered in passengers’ signatures, it captures a golden age when ocean voyages forged friendships & sparked autograph‑collecting. #EYAConnections

Let's explore a few of our lesser known #EYADUSTY collections! This watercolour artwork, depicting Arab figures, was produced by the Algiers Mission Band. It can be traced back to a journal by Lilias Trotter, who was a founding member from 1888-1928. (AWM/AMB, Box 14a)