🍫Calling all chocolate lovers and food historians! Join us to celebrate the launch of ‘The Art of Drinking Chocolate’ and hear author Dr Juan de Lara explore the fascinating history of drinking chocolate. Details: tinyurl.com/ras261029

We’ve recently launched a new online display exploring the theme of worship. It highlights some of the diverse forms of devotion found across Asian cultures through items from our collections. See the display here: juncture-digital.org/ras1823…

We’re delighted to launch a new lecture series on Maritime Asia! Kicking off the series is Tania Bhattacharyya (University of Warwick), whose lecture on Thurs 22 Oct will examine Bombay’s fascinating history as both a Persianate and border city. Details: tinyurl.com/ras261022

Join us for an in-person screening of 'Performing Beauty', directed by Mehran Haghighi, on Weds 14 October, and explore the beauty, artistry and enduring legacy of Nastaʿlīq, one of the most celebrated traditions of Persian calligraphy. Details: tinyurl.com/ras261014

How did writers navigate the changing sociopolitical landscapes in colonial Taiwan? Join us on Tues 13 Oct for a lecture by Prof Pei-yin Lin as she explores literary leftism in Japanese-ruled Taiwan through the lives of three Taiwanese writers. Details: tinyurl.com/ras261013

This evening!

This evening, in-person at 14 Stephenson Way, London!

What can rock art reveal about early human imagination? Join us on 1 Oct for an illustrated lecture by authors Christoph Baumer and Therese Weber to explore this ancient tradition and its legacy in myth and art! Details: tinyurl.com/ras261001

This evening!

A selection of colourful cover art from the China Journal of Science & Art, a bi‑monthly English periodical founded in 1923 in Shanghai and dedicated to popularising research and studies of the sciences and arts in China. Issues up to 1937 can be consulted in the RAS Library.

Join us for our next lecture on Thurs the 17th, when Lâle Uluç takes a closer examination of the Shāh Ṭahmāsp Album, the celebrated Safavid compilation of illustrated calligraphic works associated with Shah Ṭahmāsp (r. 1524–1576). Details: tinyurl.com/ras260917

Join us on Thurs 24 Sept for an in-person only talk celebrating the launch of Dr Simon Layton’s 'Piratical States', a new book exploring the expansion of British imperial power across the Indian Ocean in the early 19th century. Details: tinyurl.com/ras-260924

A painting from c. 1875 depicting Prince Thibaw of Burma riding in an outdoor procession. In a few years, he would ascend the throne following a violent succession crisis, with his short reign ending in 1886 when the kingdom was annexed to British India. (Artwork 041.003)

A reminder that nominations for three of the Society's awards will close on 1 Sept! These recognise outstanding contributions to scholarship in the fields of Asian Studies, Inner Asian Studies as well as long-term field research in Asia. Details: royalasiaticsociety.org/awar…