Key Information

Photographer

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Collection

Hugh E. Richardson

Date of Photo

November 22nd 1936

Region

Lhasa > Dekyi Lingka

Accession number

BMR.86.1.28.3

A formal group portrait of the grooms or syce who looked after the horses used by the Mission. They wear fur coats and tall hats with a gold band and were considered by some of the Mission members, Chapman included, to be the most striking individuals in the group. On this occasion it seems that all the Mission members had their photographs taken prior to visiting the Potala Palace for their second official group visit

Further Information

Photographic Process

Print gelatin silver

Expedition

British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37

Photo also owned by

Donated to the British Museum in 1986 by Hugh E. Richardson

Previous Catologue Number

C.18.10 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]

Related Collections

F. S. Chapman Collection in the Pitt Rivers Museum

This Image also appears in another collection

1998.131.674

Other Information

Notes on print/mount - 'Mission Staff' has been written at the top of the page in the album in black ink, apparently not by Hugh Richardson [MS 12/06/2006]

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]: 'Syces v.g.'; PRM Manuscripts Collection: ‘List of Tibetan Prints and Negatives’ - Book 3: ‘32/3 - Our grooms (syces) [MS 12/06/2006]

Other Information - Album: This image appears alongside three others of the Mission staff on page 28 of Hugh Richardson's album 'Lhasa 1936' [MS 12/06/2006]

Other Information - Related Images

Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'C.18' comprise a group of negatives containing images of the mission personnel, the Dalai Lamas’ tombs and the Potala. They seem all to have been taken on November 22nd 1936 [MS 18/03/2006]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Mission syce or grooms" 05 Dec. 2006. The British Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_BMR.86.1.28.3.html>.

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The Pitt Rivers Museum

The British Museum

Mission syce or grooms