Key Information

Photographer

Unknown

Collection

Evan Yorke Nepean

Date of Photo

October 3rd 1936

Named Person

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Region

Lhasa > Dekyi Lingka

Accession number

2001.35.351.1

Image Dimensions

106 x 72 mm

At a party for 4th and 5th rank officials in the Mission gardens at the Dekyi Lingka. Frederick Spencer Chapman peers into his camera which is supported on a tripod, taking photographs of the guests. Behind him, a group is seated on the ground; in the foreground is a table laid with food and drink. A Tibetan official is seated at the table in the extreme left of frame, out of focus

Further Information

Photographic Process

Print silver

Date Acquired

Loaned August 2002

Donated by

Judy Goldthorp

Expedition

British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37

Photo also owned by

Lady Nepean

Previous Catologue Number

CY.12 [view film roll]

Other Information

Notes on print/mount - 'Chapman; [ink no:] 26; [pencil no:] CY/12.'; from an envelope marked 'Parties'. [KC 08/08/2006]

Research publication - Clare Harris and Tsering Shakya (eds.) 2003 'Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947' (Serindia Publications, Chicago). Page 53

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Caption in Chapman's hand-written list of negatives made whilst on the Mission to Lhasa, 1936-7 [See PRM Manuscripts Collection]: 'FSC [Frederick Spencer Chapman] filming lunch party' [MS 08/08/2006]

Other Information - Related Images

Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'CY' taken during the 1936-7 British Mission to Lhasa under Sir Basil Gould comprise a group of negatives containing images of wireless, chang girls broadcasting, lunch party with Dagg, Chapman, Gyaltsen, Rupon, kitchen tent at Regent’s departure and picnic. They seem to have been taken during the period October 3rd - 6th 1936 [MS 08/08/2006]

Other Information - Setting

Other Information - Setting: Mission Diary for October 3rd: "Today we gave the last of our big lunch parties. The guests were officials below the fourth rank. They were as easy to entertain as all our earlier guests and it was an enjoyable afternoon but we were all relieved to see the end of a week of parties" ['Lhasa Mission, 1936: Diary of Events', Part VII p. 2, written by Hugh Richardson]. See Bodleian Library Hugh Richardson Archive MS. Or. Richardson 3 folio 42 for a fuller description of this event.[MS 08/08/2006]

Other Information - Photographer: Frederick Spencer Chapman worked with multiple cameras at once. The reference 'CY' for this image indicates that this image was taken using one of Spencer's cameras. Evan Nepean frequently worked alongside Chapman taking photographs, although more typically Nepean operated a cine camera. It is not certain, therefore, who took this photograph [MS 08/08/2006]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Frederick Spencer Chapman films a Mission party" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.35.351.1.html>.

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Frederick Spencer Chapman films a Mission party