Key Information

Photographer

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Collection

Evan Yorke Nepean

Date of Photo

November 29th 1936

Region

Lhasa > Kyichu

Accession number

2001.35.396.39.3

Image Dimensions

58 x 90 mm

Evan Nepean with rolled up trousers standing in by the Kyichu with the Potala in the background. On this day, a Sunday and therefore a day off for the Mission staff, he and a number of others crossed the Kyichu at the ferry crossing to visit a ruined fort some miles out of Lhasa. This photograph is paired with that of a similar image taken by Nepean of Frederick Spencer Chapman [2001.35.210.1]

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

This Image also appears in another collection

2001.35.211.1

Other Information

Notes on print/mount - 'Evan [Lt.Col. Sir Evan Nepean been swimming, Potala behind]' [MS 01/08/2006]

Biographical Information - Evan Nepean (1909-2002) was a member of the Royal Corps of Signals and was posted to Lhasa in 1936 to work for Gould. Along with Dagg his job was to set up and operate the portable wireless which the British took with them. This had a great impact in curbing the power of the Chinese Mission as it provided another route through which information could be sent into and out of Lhasa. As well as this Nepean and Dagg were in charge of entertainment setting up PA systems and film shows for the various Tibetans with whom the British interacted. He was also an amateur photographer often accompanying and assisting Spencer Chapman on his photographic excursions. Nepean compiled a personal album of photographs from his time in Lhasa. He was only in the city for three months before being re-posted. [CH 2003]

Other Information - Cultural Background

Other Information - Cultural Background: Evan Nepean standing in the Kyi Chu river with the Potala Palace in the background. This is one of the least formal shots taken during the 1936 British Mission to Lhasa. Taking a break from their duties, Spencer Chapman and Evan Nepean went swimming in the Kyi Chu river (which flows along the outskirts of Lhasa). They then photographed one another on the river bank with their shirts off. [CH 2003; [MS 01/08/2006]]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Evan Nepean by Kyichu" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.35.396.39.3.html>.

For more information about photographic usage or to order prints, please visit the The Pitt Rivers Museum.

The Pitt Rivers Museum

The British Museum

Evan Nepean by Kyichu