The Augustan rector

There must have been some chuckling when guests at the rector's dinner on the 8th of February 1940 opened their menus. On the inside the rector magnificus was depicted as a small putto next to Augustus of Prima Porta. Was it meant as a witty conversation starter, or was there a deeper meaning?

Erik-Jan Dros • September 17, 2025

Reflecting on knowledge through early modern encyclopaedic collections in Leiden

How can early modern encyclopaedic collections be reinterpreted today? Using old manuscripts, some of which date back to Leiden University’s very beginnings, students explore the relevance of these historical documents and the knowledge they hold. Their ideas are brought together in this exhibition.

Guest author • September 08, 2025

Two 17th century Chinese-Portuguese dictionaries digitized

The Leiden Library Asian Collection hosts, under the shelfmarks Or. 1929 a and Or. 1929 b two Chinese Portuguese dictionaries. These have now been made available in digital form. María Teresa González Linaje explains what they teach us about the early linguistic contacts between China and the West.

Guest author • July 16, 2025

Claiming Coster

On 4 November 1901, a large crowd gathered on the Rapenburg for the unveiling of a memorial, mounted on the Academy Building of Leiden University. The memorial was erected in memory of Herman Coster. Who was he and why is commemorated at this very spot, at the heart of Leiden University?

Erik-Jan Dros • June 25, 2025

Tracing the lost Royal Manuscripts of Palembang

During the 19th century colonial wars the library of the rulers of Palembang in Sumatra was looted by British and Dutch troops; its manuscripts were transported to other places and some of them are lost. Alan Darmawan visited Leiden to look for traces of some of these mishandled treasures.

Guest author • May 12, 2025

Picturing all the talents of the jubilee

When Elisabeth Carolina van Dorp (1872-1945) defended her dissertation in 1903, a special print was made to commemorate the occasion. While this print fits in an older student tradition, it also shows that women were still very much the odd ones out in the male dominated student world.

Erik-Jan Dros • April 03, 2025

Petrus Camper’s facial angle theory and the missing monkey

Illustrations in the Leiden Special Collections shed new light on the making of Petrus Camper’s ‘facial angle theory,’ which proved influential in the development of scientific racism.

Guest author • March 27, 2025

Hitting the streets at the Dies Natalis

The rijjool as part of the Dies celebrations around 1900

Erik-Jan Dros • February 06, 2025

Unpublished works of Robert van Gulik: The Collected works of Ch’an Master Tung-kao

On 17 September 1941, during his first posting as Second Secretary at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Tokyo, Dutch sinologist Robert van Gulik (1910-1967) wrote an article that would meet its readers more than eighty years later.

Marc Gilbert • January 30, 2025

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