2001.35.274.1 (Print Black & White)
Raw Image
Frederick Spencer Chapman
Evan Yorke Nepean
December 10th 1936?
Sir Basil Gould
Lhasa > Dekyi Lingka
2001.35.274.1
82 x 106 mm
Print silver
Loaned August 2002
Judy Goldthorp
British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37
Lady Nepean
BH.7 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]
1998.131.388.1 2001.35.278.1
Notes on print/mount - 'Sir Basil Gould ; ink no: 65; pencil no: BH/7; blue no: 2'. [KC 05/08/2006]
Manual Catalogues - Caption in Chapman's hand-written list of negatives made whilst on the Mission to Lhasa, 1936-7 [See PRM Manuscripts Collection]: 'Ditto Ditto [B.J.G. [Gould]] vert. [vertical] v.g' [MS 14/08/2006]
Exhibition - This image appeared in the 2003 Temporary Exhibition at the Pitt Rivers "Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947"
Research publication - Clare Harris and Tsering Shakya (eds.), 'Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947', Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003, p. 49.
Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'BH.' comprise a group of negatives containing images of Officials, a Khampa man, Sir Basil Gould and various personnel on the Mission in 1936-7. They all seem to have been taken on, just prior to or immediately after December 10th 1936 [MS 16/03/2006]
Other Information - Setting: Mission Diary for December 10th 1936: "Photographs were taken of all the Mission staff. Perhaps the syces in their tall gold-ornamented hats, and loose fitting robes edged with leopard skins, are the most spectacular members of our party. // In the afternoon we visited Kundeling monastery, where our landlords live" ['Lhasa Mission, 1936: Diary of Events', Part X p. 3, written by Chapman] [MS 22/03/2006]
Biographical Information - Sir Basil J. Gould in full dress uniform. Gould was Political Officer for Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet and leader of the 1936 British Mission to Lhasa. He was invited to attend the installation of the 14th Dalai Lama in 1940 and made a final visit to Tibet in 1944. Heavily influenced by Sir Charles Bell (his predecessor as Political Officer) Gould was determined to establish a firm foothold for the British government in Tibet. He also took great pains to record and translate the Tibetan language and is said to have memorised a set of stock honorific phrases to assist in his diplomatic endeavours. Gould was renowned for his capacity for hard work and his colleagues found him “a lot to live up to”. As a career diplomat he was highly conscious of status, within both the British and Tibetan systems. He was pleased to be referred to as Lönchen – equating his rank with that of a Tibetan prime minister and is reputed to have worn evening dress for dinner even when in camp. [CH 2003]
For Citation use:
The Tibet Album.
"Sir Basil Gould"
05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum.
<http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.35.274.1.html>.
For more information about photographic usage or to order prints, please visit the The Pitt Rivers Museum.
© The Pitt Rivers Museum