The Trust’s main library is occasionally enriched by personal collections received by donation or bequest. One such is the Bawden library, which is a comprehensive resource on all aspects of Mongolian studies with a very thorough coverage of the Mongolian language, literature, history and religion. It includes books, periodicals and offprints. A substantial part of this collection is in Mongolian. This library contains materials published in the West as well as Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (China).
The late Dr Gregory Possehl, one of our former Trustees, also donated a considerable library covering most aspects of the prehistoric and protohistoric archaeology of South Asia, centering around the Indus civilisation, and extending into many related fields. This substantial collection numbers 1170 books on the archaeology, history and anthropology of South Asia, particularly the Indus Valley civilisation. This is a complement to the Allchin collection and provides an invaluable resource for its subject.
Another generous donation was made by the late Ralph Pinder-Wilson, who was one of the Trust’s Honorary Fellows. The Pinder-Wilson library is an invaluable resource for Islamic art and architecture and Afghanistan, containing over 600 books and about 50 exhibition catalogues and 200 sale catalogues.
Ralph Pinder-Wilson also bequeathed approximately 10 boxes of his working papers and his slide collection to the Trust; as yet, these are still unlisted.
The Trust also houses a collection of 292 coins, collected at various times by Sir Harold Bailey, including (amongst other types) Achaemenid, Greco-Bactrian, Parthian, Kushan, Sasanian, Indo-Parthian and Indo-Scythian coins.
Ancient India & Iran Trust 