1998.131.625 (Print black & white)
1998.131.625 (Print black & white)
Frederick Spencer Chapman
Frederick Spencer Chapman
September 30th 1936
Yapshi Phunkang Kung
Lhasa > Yapshi Phunkang Kung's House
1998.131.625
122 x 185
Print gelatin silver
Donated 1994
Mrs Faith Spencer Chapman
British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37
Frederick Spencer Chapman
CV.28 In publication
'Lhasa Mission 1936, Diary of Events', P. Neame, H. Richardson, F. S. Chapman, Government of India Political Department [Note: photographs for October 18th - November 4th 1936 are not included as their relationship to text is not detailed; see Mission Diary text for details of images] [see photos in publication]
SC.T.2.625
'Lhasa Mission 1936, Diary of Events', P. Neame, H. Richardson, F. S. Chapman, Government of India Political Department [Note: photographs for October 18th - November 4th 1936 are not included as their relationship to text is not detailed; see Mission Diary text for details of images] [view list of illustrations]
Notes on print/mount - The reference 'CV 28' has been written on the back of the print in pencil [MS 06/04/2006]
Manual Catalogues - Caption in Chapman's hand-written list of negatives made whilst on the Mission to Lhasa, 1936-7 [See PRM Manuscripts Collection]: 'Duke sitting in his house' [MS 06/04/2006]
Research publication - Clare Harris and Tsering Shakya (eds.), 'Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947', Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003, p. 90.
Exhibition - This image appeared in the 2003 Temporary Exhibition at the Pitt Rivers "Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947"
Biographical Information - The Yabzhi Phünkang Kung (known to the British as “The Duke”) was a member of the Lhasa aristocracy and later became a shappe in the Tibetan government. The title of kung (or “Duke”) is given to the father or brother of the reigning Dalai Lama (in this case the Phünkang was the name of the family of the11th Dalai Lama). As the title is hereditary there are usually a number of kung living at the same time. The Dalai Lama often comes from a poor family so the title of kung carries with it considerable estates. The kung used to be the highest status layman in Tibet but the 13th Dalai Lama made the office of Prime minister even more exalted. Spencer Chapman describes the subject of this portrait thus: “The Duke … is a tall lean man with such bad sight that he has to hold everything up to his eyes before he can see it. He gives the impression of being completely absent-minded and unpractical in a very aristocratic and charming way.” (1938:79) [CH 2003]
Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'CV' comprise a group of negatives containing images of chang girls, dancing girls and band, ‘King’ of Lhadu’s monk, medical work at mission hospital, Gould and Lonchen Shatra, wall painting in Duke’s [Kung] house, Potala from Chakpori, telephoto views of Potala and Kundeling, Gyaltsen, and staff of the mission. They all seem to have been taken between September 28th - 30th 1936 [MS 18/03/2006]
Other Information - Setting: Entry in Mission Diary for September 30th 1936: "We lunched with the Yapshi Phunkang Kung (Duke) who is accompanying the Regent on his forthcoming visit to Samye monastery. Tsarong Dzasa was present and we had a quiet friendly party. // In the evening Ringang came in with his wife and small son. They stayed to dinner and saw some of our cinema films" ['Lhasa Mission, 1936: Diary of Events', Part VII p. 2, written by Richardson] [MS 06/04/2006]
For Citation use:
The Tibet Album.
"Yapshi Phunkang Kung"
05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum.
<http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_1998.131.625.html>.
For more information about photographic usage or to order prints, please visit the The Pitt Rivers Museum.
© The Pitt Rivers Museum
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