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A plate of part of the 'Akshobhya in his Abhirati Heaven', the 15th century image from Western Tibet (Guge) which is found in the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This plate shows only the bottom left corner of the image. Pencilled on its surround is '165e'.

The George Staunton Prize was initiated in 2007 for an article by a young scholar working on topics related to the history, archaeology, literature, language, religion, anthropology and art of Asia. A 'young scholar' was defined as someone in the process of completing their PhD or someone who has been awarded their doctorate within the previous five years. Award winning submissions were published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society and the winners received a prize of £250. Since its initiation the Prize has been awarded irregularly. Winners include:

• 2007- Nile Green for the article, ‘Jack Sepoy and the Dervishes: Islam and the Indian Soldier in Princely India’.
• 2008 - S.P. Ong for the article, 'Jurisdictional Politics in Canton and the First English Translation of the Qing Penal Code (1810)'.
• 2010 - joint winners: Felicia Yap for 'Eurasians in British Asia during the Second World War' and Martin Worthington for 'On Names and Artistic Unity in the Standard Version of the Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic'.
• 2014 - Dr Fozia Bora for her article, 'Did Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Destroy the Fatimids' Books? Historiographical Enquiry'.
• 2023 - Dr Kelsey Granger for her article, 'From Tomb-Keeper to Tomb-Occupant: The Changing Conceptualisation of Dogs in Early China'.

There is limited archival material at this stage but it contains:

2007

• One letter to enter an article for the prize, dated 26 May 2007.
• Official letter from Charlotte de Blois, Executive Editor, Royal Asiatic Society, to Nile Green to inform that he has been awarded the prize. Digital document, dated 30 May 2008.
• Copies of emails between Nile Green, Charlotte de Blois and Sarah Ansari, Honorary Editor, concerning receiving the prize, Typed, 1 piece, dated 2 May 2008.

2008

• One letter to enter an article for the prize, dated 28 May 2008.
• Copies of emails between Charlotte de Blois and Sujit Sivasundaram concerning assessment of entered essays. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 1 July - 14 November 2008.

2010

• Two letters to enter an article for the prize, dated 15 and 27 October 2010.

2011

• Two letters to enter an article for the prize, undated.
• Advertisement for submissions for both the Professor Mary Boyce Prize and the Sir George Staunton Prize.

2014

• 'Staunton Submissions' - list of candidates and their referees. Digital document, undated.
• 'Staunton Opinions' - summary of opinions of the judges for the articles submitted. Digital document, undated.

2015

• Advertisement for the Sir George Staunton Prize, articles to be submitted before 31 December 2015.

The Royal Asiatic Society initiated the Professor Mary Boyce Prize for articles relating to the study of religion in Asia. Award winning submissions receive £250 and are published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. The focus of the prize is any religion, anywhere in Asia and at any time, and the Society’s main aim is to encourage the submission of pieces of original, unpublished research that make innovative contributions to understanding, learning and scholarship.

Since its initiation the Prize has been awarded irregularly. Winners include:
2007 - Julius N, Tsai for the article, Reading the ‘Inner Biography of the Perfected Person of Purple Solarity’: Religion and Society in an Early Daoist Hagiography.
2009 - Alexander Wynne for the article, The Buddha's ‘skill in means’ and the genesis of the five aggregate teaching.

There is limited archival material at this stage but it contains:

2007

• Judge's comment upon submissions for the Prize, electronic document.

2008

• Draft publicity poster for the Professor Mary Boyce Prize and the George Staunton Prize, electronic document.

2009

• Copies of emails between Charlotte de Blois, Executive Editor, Royal Asiatic Society, and Alexander Wynne, winner, Professor Mary Boyce Prize concerning his entry and award. Two pieces, dated 9 June -14 July 2009.

2010

• Submission letter for entry to the prize. Handwritten, 1 piece.

2011

• Draft publicity poster for the Professor Mary Boyce Prize and the George Staunton Prize. Computer printed, 1 piece.

The Bayly Prize was established by friends and colleagues to mark the outstanding contribution of Professor Sir Christopher Bayly FBA to the study of world history and that of Asia in particular. It is an £2500 award for a distinguished thesis in an Asian subject falling within the scope of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society or of Modern Asian Studies. The thesis must have been examined and approved for the PhD degree at a British University in the year preceding entry to the competition. It was first awarded in 2018 and has been awarded annually since.

The winners have been:

• 2018 - Johannes Lotze (University of Manchester) for the thesis, Translation of Empire: Mongol Legacy, Language Policy, and the Early Ming World Order, 1368-1453.
• 2019 - Lexi (Alexandra) Stadlen (London School of Economics) for the thesis, Weaving lives from Violence: Possibility and Change for Muslim Women in West Bengal.
• 2020 - Liana Chase (School of Oriental and African Studies) for the thesis, Healing ‘Heart-Minds’: Disaster, Care, and Global Mental Health in Nepal’s Himalayan Foothills.
• 2021 - Mallika Leuzinger (University College, London) for the thesis, Dwelling in Photography: Intimacy, Amateurism and the Camera in South Asia.
• 2022 - Sonia Wigh (University of Exeter) for the thesis, The Body of Words: A social history of sex and the body in early modern South Asia.
• 2023 - Thomas Barrett (University of Oxford) for the thesis, Foreigners and the Making of the Chinese Diplomat.

There are administrative documents, invitations, publicity and photographs from the award events.

The Royal Asiatic Society has irregularly sponsored research fellows. This material contains correspondence and administrative papers connected to this. At present there is only archival material for Professor Om Prakesh Kejariwal.

The Papers of Charles Ambrose Storey are mainly concerned with gathering material for his research into Persian Literature. They include his own notes and draft publications and additional notes by people who subsequently worked with his research.

Minutes for the General Meetings held by the Society for its Members to attend. At these meetings, new members would be admitted, donations presented, and Papers or letters read on Asiatic topics. The Minutes have been accumulated into bound volumes covering the time span from 1823-2011.

The signed Minutes and associated correspondence of the Meetings of the Royal Asiatic Society's Events and House Committee.

The International Congress of Libraries and Documentation Centres was held in Brussels from the 11-18 September 1955. It included the Third International Congress of Libraries, the Fourth Congress of Music Libraries, and the Twenty-Second International Conference of Documentation. This material consists of the printed pamphlet entitled "Notice No. 1, September 1954", giving details of the Organizing Committees, the History and Aims of the Congress, the Programmes for the Congress etc. The material is printed in English and French.

Correspondence concerned with the first Congress of the Federation of Learned Societies of North Africa, held at Algiers University from 10-11 June 1935. These are:

• Letter from Société Historique Algérienne to the President of the Royal Asiatic Society to inform of the first Congress of the Federation of Learned Societies of North Africa and to invite the Royal Asiatic Society to send a representative. The letter informs of the subjects to be discussed. Typed in French, dated 6 February 1935.
• Letter from Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to The Secretary, Société Historique Algérienne, to apologise for the delay in replying to their letter but he was still waiting to hear of a suitable representative. Typed, dated 13 March 1935.
• Letter from Professor Henri Pérès to the Royal Asiatic Society to write that is would be an honour to represent the Royal Asiatic Society at the Congress. Handwritten in French, date 15 April 1935.
• Letter from D.S. Margoliouth, President, Royal Asiatic Society, to Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to enclose the letter from Professor Pérès accepting the invitation to represent the Society at the Congress. Handwritten, dated 22 April 1935.
• Letter from Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to Professor Pérès to send the official form from the Society for the Congress. Typed, dated 7 May 1935.
• Letter from Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to the Secretary General, Société Historique Algérienne, concerning the Royal Asiatic Society's representation at the Congress, and to inform that Professor Henri Pérès would represent the Society. Typed, dated 10 May 1935.