Introduction to Oriental collections
Manuscripts, rare printed books, letters, archival materials, photographs, drawings and maps from the Orient, collected from 1575 to the present day.
Oriental collections
Middle Eastern collections
Manuscripts, rare printed books, letters, other archival materials and photographs from the Middle East and North Africa.
Hebraica and Semitica
Manuscripts and rare printed books in Hebrew and other Semitic languages, Coptic and Armenian.
South and Central Asia Collections
Manuscripts and block prints, photographs, archival materials, miniatures and drawings, maps as well as rare printed books on South Asia and Central Asia.
Southeast Asian Collections
Among the collections from or related to Southeast Asia, the Malay-Indonesian collection takes a prominent place. This collection includes manuscripts, letters, photographs, drawings, maps, rubbings and printed documents. Manuscripts from mainland Southeast Asia, Birma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, are well represented in the collection though on a modest scale.
Japanese and Chinese collections
Japanese blockprinted books and manuscripts, largely brought together by Philipp Franz von Siebold, and a select Sinological collection.