Asian and African studies blog

The complete collection of Malay manuscripts in the British Library is to be digitised thanks to a generous donation of £125,000 from Singapore-based American philanthropists William and Judith Bollinger. The five-year project, in collaboration with the National Library Board of Singapore, will fund the digitisation of materials of interest to Singapore held in the British Library. In addition to Malay manuscripts, early maps of Singapore and selected archival papers of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles – who founded a British settlement in Singapore in 1819 – will also be digitised and made freely accessible online. 

For centuries, the Malay language has played an important role as the lingua franca of trade, diplomacy and religion throughout maritime Southeast Asia.  It was the language through which Islam spread across the archipelago from the 13th century onwards; it was the language in which visiting merchants from the Middle East, India, China and Europe would barter for spices in the rich port cities of Melaka, Patani, Aceh, Banten and Makassar; and it was the language through which British and Dutch colonial officials communicated with local sultanates. Until the early 20th century Malay was generally written in a modified form of the Arabic script known as Jawi, and Malay manuscripts originate from the present-day nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the southern regions of Thailand and the Philippines.
 

A map showing the area over which the Malay language was commonly spoken, from the first original Malay-English dictionary, by Thomas Bowrey, 1701  (British Library, 68.c.12)

The British Library holds over a hundred Malay manuscript texts and several hundred Malay letters and documents, dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. These manuscripts derive mainly from the historic British Museum collections, including Malay books owned by John Crawfurd, who served under Raffles during the British administration of Java from 1811 to 1816, and then as Resident of Singapore from 1823 to 1826, and from the India Office Library (which became part of the British Library in 1983), which holds Malay manuscripts belonging to John Leyden, Raffles’s closest friend and advisor, who died of fever shortly after the British capture of Batavia in 1811; Col. Colin Mackenzie, Raffles’s Chief Engineer in Java; as well as a few manuscripts previously owned by Raffles himself. 

Although not large, the British Library collection of Malay manuscripts includes some very important works, including the oldest known manuscript of the earliest Malay history, ‘Chronicle of the kings of Pasai’, Hikayat Raja Pasai, (Or.14350), describing the coming of Islam to Sumatra; two copies of the most famous Malay historical text, the ‘Malay Annals’, Sejarah Melayu, (Or.14734 & Or.16214) recording the glories of the great kingdom of Melaka up to its capture by the Portuguese in 1511; literary works in both prose (hikayat) and verse (syair), some of which – such as the intriguingly-named ‘Story of the Pig King’, Hikayat Raja Babi (Add.12393), written by a merchant from Semarang during a voyage to Palembang in Sumatra – are unique copies; as well as texts on law and Islamic religious obligations.  A few of the manuscripts are exquisitely illuminated, including a fine copy of an ethical guide for rulers, ‘The Crown of Kings’, Taj al-Salatin, copied in Penang in 1824 (Or.13295). 
  

A sumptuously illuminated manuscript of an ethical guide for rulers, ‘The Crown of Kings’, Taj al-Salatin, copied in Penang in 1824  (British Library Or.13295, ff.190v-191r)


The Malay manuscripts are being digitised in the British Library and will be fully available on the Library’s Digitised Manuscripts online (search on keywords ‘Malay’ or ‘Jawi’), while the National Library Board of Singapore will also be mounting the images on their BookSG website. Thus through this project, manuscripts which previously could only be viewed by visiting the British Library’s reading rooms in London will soon be made freely accessible online worldwide to anyone with an interest in Malay heritage and culture.

Over the next few months, on this blog we will be exploring in more detail individual manuscripts as they are digitised and made available online. If you would like to keep in touch, subscribe by email (at the top of this page) and follow us on Twitter @BLAsia_Africa.

Further reading

Malay manuscripts in the British Library are catalogued in:
M.C. Ricklefs & P. Voorhoeve, Indonesian manuscripts in Great Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977)

Annabel Teh Gallop, Lead Curator, Southeast Asian Studies

In the late 18th century British and Scottish botanists and surgeons led a movement to document the natural history of the subcontinent. The East India Company, initially established as the British trading company and eventually a major governing power over parts of the subcontinent, recognised the need for this scientific research. Its practice was therefore adopted as official policy and resulted in the collection of rare species of flora and fauna. The specimens were preserved in the newly established Royal Botanic Garden in Calcutta and the Barrackpore Menagerie.

As part of the documentation process, Indian artists were hired to illustrate the scientific specimens. Sets of the watercolours and drawings remained in archives in India, while duplicates were sent to the East India Company’s Library in London. Natural history enthusiasts including Marquis Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal (1798-1805) and Lord Clive, Governor of Madras (1798-1803) also amassed personal collections of such works.

A selection of watercolours and drawings are currently on display in the British Library's Treasure's Gallery.  Every few months, the display will be rotated.  A few that are currently on view include:

Himalayan porcupine
Unknown Indian artist
Calcutta, c. 1798-1805
Watercolour on paper
British Library, NHD 32/37

This species of porcupine (Hystrix brachyura hodgsoni) is also known as Hodgson’s short tailed porcupine. These mammals live in forests and grasslands of northeastern India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Porcupine can grow up to 90 cm in length, they are predominantly nocturnal and survive on fruit and grains. This drawing is part of a series assembled by Marquis Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal (1798-1805).

Indian flapshell turtle  
Unknown Chinese artist, c. 1798-1803
Watercolour on paper
British Library, NHD 44/15

This species of turtle (Lissemys punctata) is indigenous to the North Indian River Plain and parts of Burma and Thailand. They can be found in shallow and stagnant bodies of water, surviving on a diet of frogs, aquatic snails and fishes. The domed shell of the turtle can measure up to 37 cm. This drawing is by a Chinese painter working for the British in Malaysia and acquired by Lord Clive, later 1^st Earl of Powis.

Rhododendron
Unknown Indian artist
Calcutta, c. 1798 – 1805
British Library, NHD 16/24

This woody tree (Rhododendron arboreum) is indigenous to north-central India and can grow up to 25 m in height. In full bloom, the scarlet flowers are a spectacular sight. This drawing was copied from an original in the collection of Major-General Thomas Hardwicke, who served in the Bengal Artillery and was a great collector of natural history drawings. Hardwicke’s discovery of this species in 1796 is the basis for the earliest description and identification of this species.

Several items from Hardwicke’s collection, including this drawing, were acquired by Marquis Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal (1798-1805). The correct identification of this rhododendron was provided by Dr. Henry Noltie of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Edinburgh.

Further reading:

Mildred Archer, Natural History Drawings in the India Office Library, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1962

H.J. Noltie, Indian Botanical Drawings, 1793-1868, from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 1999

H.J. Noltie, Raffles' Ark Redrawn: Natural History Drawings from the Collection of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. London & Edinburgh: The British Library & Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in association with Bernard Quaritch Ltd, 1999.

Malini Roy, Visual Arts Curator

Malini Roy, Visual Arts Curator - See more at: http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/asian-and-african/2013/07/book-of-affairs-of-love.html#sthash.VnZbEnLH.dpuf

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic and trade relations between Britain and Japan. Throughout 2013 a series of events is being organised around the UK under the banner Japan400.


The English ship Brothers and members of its crew depicted by a Japanese artist in 1818 (Or.14755)
Images online

To commemorate the anniversary the British Library is mounting a display of material from its collections relating to Anglo-Japanese relations from the establishment of the English East India Company (EIC) trading post at Hirado in 1613 to the opening of Japan in the mid-19th century. The small exhibition includes a letter from King James I to the 'emperor' of Japan, the EIC’s official translation of the charter granted by the retired-Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and a letter of 1611 from William Adams, the first Englishman to set foot in Japan, describing his eventful life.

There are also historic maps which reflect the central role played by the island of Hirado in Japan’s external relations in those early years, as well as an illustrated manuscript made by Japanese officials showing a British ship which visited Japan in 1818 and a book published in 1853 with bizarrely antiquated depictions of foreigners.


Letter from King James I of England to the ‘Emperor’ of Japan, 1611 (IOR/B/2 f.149)


Background

In January 1611 the East India Company dispatched the Clove under the command of Captain John Saris to establish trading links with Japan. After an eventful voyage of over two years the Clove reached the island of Hirado in south-west Japan in June 1613.  Captain Saris brought letters and gifts from King James I for the Shogun including the first telescope to have left Europe. With the aid of fellow Englishman William Adams, who had lived in Japan since 1600, Saris was able to obtain audiences with the Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and the retired Shogun Ieyasu and successfully negotiated permission to trade. He also received two suits of armour and painted screens as official gifts for King James and this exchange marks the beginning of formal relations between the two countries.

The East India Company set up a trading post or ‘factory’ in Hirado but the venture proved a failure. Advice from Adams over its location and the most profitable goods was ignored and the factory was abandoned in 1623 after only a decade.


Portion of a scroll map of the sea route from Nagasaki to Osaka. showing Firando [Hirado]
c.1680-90 (Or.70.bbb.9)


In response to the perceived threat of foreign influence, from the 1630s the Japanese government strictly limited contact with the outside world and the only Westerners permitted to trade were a small group of Dutch merchants confined to the island of Deshima in Nagasaki harbour. Nevertheless, over the next two centuries British ships occasionally visited Japan - for example the Brothers which arrived in 1818 – seeking to be allowed to trade. All such attempts were rebuffed and it was not until the ‘opening’ of Japan in 1853 that trade and diplomatic relations were re-established.

The display can be seen in the Treasures Gallery at the British Library from 1 August to 26 September. For information about Japan400 and its events see its official website.

Hamish Todd, Lead Curator, Japanese & Korean


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Researchers who make use of the Asian & African Studies Reading Room on the third floor of the Library will be aware that it contains a small but impressive display of works of art. Readers showing their passes to the security officer on duty at the entrance may not be aware that they are almost literally turning their backs on a portrait by Royal Academician Thomas Phillips of the early nineteenth century oriental scholar and bibliophile Claudius James Rich. 
 

Portrait of Claudius James Rich, ca. 1803, by Thomas Phillips R.A.
Donated in 1825 by his widow Mary Rich
Oil painting on loan from the Trustees of the British Museum (Foster 886) Images Online


However, walking past two of the three model ships in glass cases donated to the India Office by shipping companies in the Victorian period, they will discover most seats in the Room allow a view of nine portraits high on the east wall. These range  from Richard Greenbury’s 1626 painting of Naqd ‘Ali Beg, Persian envoy to the court of King Charles I (see our recent post ‘Stitched up in Silk’, but note that the painting has been temporarily removed for repair), through the full length portrait of one of the mid-nineteenth century Prime Ministers of Nepal by Bhaujuman Citrakar in its ornate gilt frame, to the pair of north Indian worthies painted by the German-born artist Johann Zoffany and shown in last year’s exhibition of his work at the Royal Academy.
 

H.E. General Sir Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana (1817-77), Prime Minister and
Commander-in-Chief of Nepal.
Oil painting by Bhaujaman Citrakar, 1849 (Foster 36) Images Online


On the way out readers will no doubt notice the ca. 1730 painted and gilded East India Company coat-of-arms; there is also a specially-designed niche in the far corner where stands a handsome bust of Warren Hastings, the famous late eighteenth century Governor-General of Bengal who played a major role in the establishment of British power in India; and on top of the oriental language card catalogues two (empty) manuscript boxes from Southeast Asia. Two much larger examples from Burma and Thailand can be seen in glass cases out on the third floor landing; those with long memories will recall that this space was formerly occupied by three fine eighteenth century chairs from the Company’s Court Room.


The East India Company coat of arms, originally hung above the chairman's seat in the Directors Court Room at East India House, Leadenhall Street.
Wood. Originally published/produced in c.1730 (Foster 887) Images Online


Needless to say the Library possesses far more works of art than it can hope to display at any one time. They are described in detail in our India Office Select Materials, and some can be traced and admired in the Images Online database. High resolution digital images of all 286 of the Library's oil paintings can also be seen on the BBC's 'Your Paintings'. A list with details of the works of art on display in the Reading Room can be downloaded from the following link: Download Works of art in AAS Reading Room.

Looking at original prints and drawings can be arranged for registered readers via a weekday afternoon (14.00-17.00) appointments system by contacting [email protected]. Obtaining copies is the province of Imaging Services. Don’t forget too that the two Sunday tours include a look inside the Reading Room on the one day of the week it is closed to readers.

Hedley Sutton, Reference Team Leader

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Preparing a talk recently for the 'Africa Writes' festival at the British Library, I wrestled with how to cover a big chunk of history in half an hour. How to communicate the fascination of the manuscript cultures of West Africa – and just how large these collections are? The story is about so much more than Timbuktu – though that city was indeed a big player in the cultures of learning and literacy that developed south of the Sahara over the second millennium CE.

Cloth trader. P.D. Boilat, Esquisses sénégalaises (Paris, 1853). 10096.h.9

In a way, though, the story tells itself. The manuscript cultures of West Africa aren’t well-known, and they reveal something perhaps rather unexpected about the continent. Trans-Saharan links brought both Islamic learning and a culture of books to great swathes of West Africa, from Mauritania in the north-west to Nigeria and Cameroon in the south-east. Across the region, many collections still survive: around 80 libraries have contributed to the West African Arabic Manuscript Project.


Religious poem. (BL Or.6473)

This image, from the British Library’s small collection of West African manuscripts, is a religious poem. Islamic studies and religious literature were the top subjects of interest to West African scholars and students. The Arabic language and legal studies both also generated copious amounts of documents. Then there are manuscripts in other areas including history, astronomy and astrology, arithmetic and mathematics, numerology and amulets, politics, and health and medicine.


Work on grammar. (BL Or.6953)

Many West African manuscripts are not illuminated – the artistic interest lies in the calligraphy. But religious manuscripts, particularly Qur’ans, were often beautifully decorated. The image below is from a Qur’an in the British Library’s collections, in the artistic tradition of northern Nigeria / southern Niger.


Opening page of a Qur’an. (BL Or.13284)

The manuscript heritage of West Africa – and of other parts of the continent, where there were also strong cultures of scholarship – demonstrates conclusively that Africa south of the Sahara was not a continent without writing. Herein lies, I think, much of the reason for the new focus on this heritage – of which Timbuktu is the leading symbol. And in that regard, the news is not all bad: the majority of the manuscripts, we hear, survived the recent troubles and are relatively safe, at least for now.

I’m focusing here on manuscripts from West Africa specifically because the British Library will be holding an exhibition on ‘West Africa: Cultures of the Word’ in 2015. Over the coming months, I’ll be blogging more about manuscripts, and the exhibition. Watch this space (and follow us on Twitter).

Marion Wallace, Africa Curator, Asian and African Studies

Further reading

Graziano Krätli and Ghislaine Lydon (eds), The trans-Saharan book trade: manuscript culture, Arabic literacy, and intellectual history in Muslim Africa (Leiden: Brill, 2011)
UNESCO expert mission evaluates damage to Mali’s cultural heritage

Abiola Olanipekun, an intern for the Social Sciences department at the British Library, recently spent some time researching British patrons of Indian art in response to the exhibition Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire (ended April 2013).

Although the Mughal exhibition has ended, I was interested in exploring some of the key British figures that played pivotal roles behind some of the Mughal happenings. The English East India Company was founded in 1600, while Emperor Akbar (ruled 1556-1605) was still in power. Initally, the British were only interested in trading. However, as the Mughal empire weakened, the British gained substantial strength and exerted political control over the northern subcontinent.

Researching the East India Company, I was surprised to discover that notable characters such as  Richard Johnson, Warren Hastings, General Carnac and Sir Elijah Impey had strong associations and even (undeniable) lifelong linkages with the East India Company through their work and reputations. Some of the characters were very colourful, interesting and quite scandalous! The controversy, bravery of exploiting the law and the supposed reasoning behind these actions make this history all the more exciting!

My starting point was Sir Elijah Impey who born 13 June 1732 into a relatively poor family. Impey attended the Westminster School with Warren Hastings; the two became and remained intimate friends throughout his life. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge. Elijah was called to the bar in 1756. For a portrait of Impey, see the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

In 1773, Impey was appointed as the first Chief Justice of the new Supreme Court in Calcutta. His wife Mary set up their household in Calcutta and established a private menagerie. Mary also commissioned local artists to produce drawings of the rare animals she collected, including one of a pangolin, or a Chinese anteater. This spectacular drawing featured in the exhibition.

Pangolin or scaly anteater by Shaikh Zain al-Di, Calcutta, 1779 (BL Add.Or.4667)

In 1775, Elijah presided at the trial of Maharaja Nandakumar, who was accused of forging a bond in an attempt to deprive a widow of more than half her inheritance. The results of this trial ensured that he went down in history and in 1789; both he and Warren Hastings were subjected to impeachment, for their handling of this case. In 1790, Elijah returned to parliament as the member for New Romney; he spent the next seven years as an MP before retiring to Newick Park. He died on 1 October 1809.

Abiola Olanipekun

You can follow Abiola @Ola_Ola1

Further reading:

T. H. Bowyer, ‘Impey, Sir Elijah (1732–1809)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

One of the oldest oil paintings in the British Library’s collections is a massive portrait of Naqd ʻAli Beg. It was commissioned by the English East India Company in 1626 and painted by Richard Greenbury (fl.1616-1651). In that year, Naqd ʻAli Beg came to London as the envoy of Shah ʻAbbas of Persia (r.1587-1629), to meet the British monarch, King Charles I (r.1625-1649).

His mission to England went so badly that he killed himself on the journey back to Iran in 1627. The circumstances behind his suicide relate to a violent quarrel that arose between him and Sir Robert Shirley at the court of Charles I. Both men claimed to be the true envoy of Shah ʻAbbas, claiming the other was an imposter, so the king ordered them to return to the Shah’s court and resolve their differences. The shame of failure was too great for Naqd ʻAli Beg to bear, hence his suicide.

It seems as if the East India Company was responsible for this terrible incident. According to a document in the British Library, Sir Robert Shirley was, in fact, the true envoy of Shah ʻAbbas, and had returned to England in 1624, two years before the arrival of Naqd ʻAli Beg. However, Shirley had angered the East India Company by trying to negotiate a monopoly for the trade in Persian silk with the King of Spain. Such an agreement would have undermined the silk trade with England. The East India Company’s response was to slander Shirley, and to put in place another envoy to the Shah of Persia, who would support trade with London.


Portrait of Naqd ʻAli Beg, oil on canvas (British Library F23)

The portrait reflects the importance of the silk trade. Naqd ʻAli Beg’s adornments are all made of highest quality Persian silk. He wears a magnificent iridescent gown, which contrasts with his sash and turban. His robe is intricately embroidered with human figures resembling those found in Persian miniature paintings. The only object in the darkly lit room where he stands is a Persian carpet under his feet. Posing him amongst all these silk objects is surely not a coincidence. They suggest that the entire point of Naqd ʻAli Beg’s embassy was to undermine Sir Robert Shirley’s work, and secure Persia’s silk trade with the East India Company.

Richard Greenbury was commissioned to paint two portraits of Naqd ʻAli Beg for the East India Company. One was kept in East India House, and is now part of the British Library’s permanent collections. The other portrait, now lost, was given to Naqd ʻAli Beg when he left England in 1627, along with a silver basin and ewer valued at that time for £50. Even though Naqd ʻAli Beg’s embassy was a complete disaster, the East India Company gave him these expensive gifts. But these offerings weren’t enough to assuage the humiliated Persian envoy. Rather than face the Shah, when his ship reached the coast of Western India, Naqd ʻAli Beg poisoned himself by allegedly feeding on nothing but opium for four days.

The British Library’s portrait of Naqd ʻAli Beg is about to be conserved through the support of the Friends of the British Library. In early 2014 it will be returned to its permanent position, in the British Library’s Asia & Africa Reading Room.


Further reading
Archer, Mildred. The India Office Collection of Paintings and Sculpture. London: The British Library, 1986, pp. 28-29
Leapman, Michael. Book of the British Library. London: The British Library, 2012, p. 178
Unpublished notes by William Foster, dated 7 November 1903, in the India Office Records (IOR/L/R/6/248)

Jennifer Howes, Visual Arts Curator

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Published in Bombay from 1856 to 1866, the serial Doresh tov le-‘amo takes its Hebrew title from a biblical verse (Esther 10:3) which roughly translates as  'Seeking good for one’s people', a fitting name for a journal purporting to inform and educate the community.  The English subtitle The Hebrew Gazette was only added with the eleventh issue.  In the first two years of circulation the journal appeared fortnightly, then weekly until 1866 when publication finally ceased.

Printed by lithography, the language used throughout is the Judeo-Arabic dialect of the Baghdadi Jews penned in their distinctive Hebrew cursive script. Due to these peculiarities, the journal’s readership was obviously limited to the Baghdadi Jewish community.  The first two issues were lithographed on blue paper by Sason ben David Sason who, as acting editor, set out the main goals of the journal in an opening essay.  Thereafter, editorial responsibility passed on to David Hayim David, Doresh tov le-‘amo  being subsequently printed on white paper, except from  numbers 8, 9 and 16 for which blue paper was again used.


The title page for vol. 3. no. 35 of Doresh tov le-‘amo, published in Bombay in June 1858. Acquired  from the Valmadonna Trust, 2005 (ORB 40/595)


The serial’s most salient features are undoubtedly its unique calligraphy and decorated front pages of individual issues, particularly those printed in the years 1857-1858.  As seen– in issue no.35, vol.3, June 1858 – the ornamentation is fairly simple consisting mainly of floral embellishments flanking the title panel and a pair of sketchy steamboats serving as text markers.   

Each issue imparts a wealth of information, ranging from general news such as the movement of ships in and out of Bombay harbour, to notices relating to the local Baghdadi Jewish community, such as for example weddings and philanthropic acts.  Historical articles and short accounts on overseas Jewish communities were published only occasionally. 

The front pages are excellent sources of information in their own right, the one shown here being no exception.  Not only does it provide details of the weekly Torah portion and prophetical readings for the Sabbath service, but it also shows the tidal periods and even the exact timing of the cannon firing at the Fort of Bombay.  The first steamboat, marked 'London' in Hebrew script, announces the sailing of a ship to England via Aden and Suez on June 4th 1858.  The ship, which was serviced by the Peninsular and Oriental Company, ran a postal collection the day before sailing. 

The title page for vol. 1. no. 16 of Doresh tov le-‘amo (The Hebrew Gazette), published in Bombay in the spring of 1856, lithographed on blue paper (ORB 40/595)


This journal provides a fascinating insight into the social and cultural habits of the Baghdadi Jews of Bombay, as well as glimpses of Indian life in the early second half of the 19th century.   

Ilana Tahan, Lead Curator Hebrew and Christian Orient Studies


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