Royal Asian Art Society in the Netherlands
 
The Royal Asian Art Society in the Netherlands (KVVAK) was founded in 1918. The Society’s main goal is to disclose high-quality Asian art to a wider audience, to create interest in it and to stimulate academic research in this field. The KVVAK collection is internationally regarded as a world-class collection and is exhibited in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
The Jan Menze van Diepen Foundation financially contributes to the KVVAK in the costs of the Chair in Asian Art at Leiden University.
 
Logo KVVAK


University chair

The KVVAK has a chair at the Leiden University ‘Material history of the exchanges between Asia and Europe’, that was held by prof. Dr. C.J.A. Jörg until November 2009.

With support of members and the Jan Menze van Diepen Foundation, the KVVAK was able to co-finance the chair ‘Kikkoman Chair for the study of Asia-Europe intercultural dynamics’ held by Prof. Anne Gerritsen at Leiden University from 2013 until 2018. Starting in the academic year 2018-2019, Gerritsen has been reappointed Professor on the ‘Chair of Asian Art’ for a period of four years.

Journal and activities


Three times a year, the society publishes the journal Aziatische Kunst (Asian Art). The journal has independent editors. The articles are written by the curators and renown (inter)national academics in the field of Asian art.  

The society is very active in the organisation of excursions, lectures and courses and has over 650 members. In 2016 the KVVAK organised a trip to South-China. Members are informed of relevant fairs and auctions, recent publications and exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad. The KVVAK has several committees devoted to specific subjects: ceramics, travels, excursions, Southeast-Asia and the interaction East-West.

The library can be consulted in the Rijksmuseum.