SOAS Special Collections

Fish being sun-dried in Aberdeen, Hong Kong, photographed by Henry Rue in 1910-1913. #EYAWildlife https://ow.ly/UNwV50Yp6ek

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 https://ow.ly/8y9F50Yp5Rm

Anthropologist, Christoph von Furer Haimendorf was lucky enough to capture a photo of this young wild elephant in upland Kerala in 1953 #EYAWildlife https://ow.ly/ZLCf50Yp4ZY

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. https://digital.soas.ac.uk/Documents/Detail/crane-and-chicks-in-a-nest-on-a-pine-tree/975524 #EYWildlife

Who are better at #EYAConnections but ambassadors! You can view the full 17th Cent. 'Procession of Korean Ambassadors' scroll at https://ow.ly/RouS50Y9Pn4 (MS 86566)

Join us for Curators’ Tours of our current exhibitions:

✨ Thurs 26 Feb – Mughal Banaras
🗓 Thurs 5 March – I Couldn’t Stand By
✨ Sat 7 March – Mughal Banaras

Fresh perspectives and expert insights. Free, booking required: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/curators-tours-4819675?just_published=true

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 https://digital.soas.ac.uk/Documents/Detail/christian-liturgical-texts-in-bohairic-coptic-with-arabic-glosses/1047560

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: https://ow.ly/1aRU50Y9jYP #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 https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/archives/2019/03/28/choju-ryakugashiki/

To all of you starting your celebrations of #SpringFestival and #ChineseNewYear the #YearOfTheHorse from us may we wish you an absolutely fabulous 2026

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 https://ow.ly/Xl6A50Y9jm6

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

Meet Jateen - from 13.30 to 15.00 on Thurs 12 Feb one of the curators of our current exhibition Mughal Banaras will be in the Gallery to tell you more and answer questions about the project.

From 1930s Whitechapel, Stencl championed Yiddish through his writing and as editor of Losh un leben, reconnecting refugees, poets and workers across borders. #EYAConnections https://digital.soas.ac.uk/archives/papers-of-abraham-nahum-stencl

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

Ready to explore #Bloomsbury? All within a short stroll use our handy map to visit these hidden gems: @thecryptgallerylondon @peltzgallery @the_warburg_institute @soas_gallery @aaschool @pushkinhouselondon @swedenborghouse @mimosahouselondon. Which will you visit first?

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)

🧵6/6 In this pictorial letter, Hassan Musa draws an extension to a photograph of his wife and children "having fun" in front of his self-portrait Autoportrait avec les idees Noires (2003, Sarah Baartman and Josephine Baker). https://digital.soas.ac.uk/results/brief/?t=hassan+musa

Last chance! 'Contextualising Jahandar Shah and the ‘Later’ Mughals of Banaras', is tomorrow, Wednesday 21st January, at 6:15pm at SOAS. Free and open to the public: https://ow.ly/IjEU50Y0fUv

🧵5/6 The Musa family's New Year's 1999 greeting card with painting by Hassan and his daughter Aya, who drew Santa Claus; signed by the four Musas. https://digital.soas.ac.uk/results/brief/?t=hassan+musa

🧵4/6 Hassan Musa created this colourful New Years card in 2006. SOAS holds a number of his mail art works. Find out more here: https://ow.ly/cM2r50XSRBU

Thrilled to unveil our first-ever digital exhibition on our brand‑new digital library — celebrating 50 years of the Swire Archive at SOAS. A milestone worth exploring! https://soas.quartexcollections.com/john-swire-sons-exhibition

🧵3/6 Musa’s New Year's greeting card, 2003 is a lino print in black with torn paper collage on white; the imagery depicts a vase of flowers https://digital.soas.ac.uk/results/brief/?t=hassan+musa

🧵2/6 Artist Hasan Musa's New Year's greeting card, 2002 is a linoprint in several colours with some torn-paper collage on black; the imagery resembles that in Musa's 1999 book about a Sudanese folktale Sabila et Kotchéli. https://digital.soas.ac.uk/results/brief/?t=hassan+musa

🧵1/6 As we welcome in the New Year, we'd like to share a series of New Years cards designed by artist Hassan Musa. He sent this drawing of Yuangtong Temple, Kunming, western China as his New Year's 2013 greeting #MailArt https://digital.soas.ac.uk/results/brief/?t=hassan+musa

A warm welcome back to our readers, and especially our students who have exams at the moment - we wish you the best of luck! This image is of one of our Chinese woodblock prints featuring celestial officials symbolising good fortune