Professor Susan Whitfield: Aurel Stein, female friends and changing worlds

Image caption: Aurel Stein (right) in Lahore with colleagues and friends Fred and Alice Andrews (left) and Percy and Helen Allen, the last with Stein’s dog, Dash. 1896–7. Courtesy: Cambridge University.

About the Talk

In 1920 Ella Sykes became the second female secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, succeeding Elinor Hull. Their appointments were indicative of ongoing changes over several decades in academic and professional opportunities available to European women, not only in Europe but also wider afield, including British India. Aurel Stein, an outsider who likewise had to fight for his own opportunities in British society, had several women among his closest circle of friends. The women are distinguished—as are his male friends— by their strong characters, intelligence, sympathy and interests: indeed, he wrote that he valued one such friendship ‘higher as an honour than membership of Academies.’ Here I look at some of these women, as they provide a snapshot of the interests and achievements of women at this time, particularly in Asian travel, work and study.

About the Speaker

Professor of Silk Road Studies at Sainsbury Instutute for Japanese Arts and Cultures, UEA, Susan Whitfield has worked on the Stein collections for over three decades. She curated his collections at the British Library, carried out field work in many of his excavation sites, organised major exhibitions, and has many several books and articles.

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