Key Information

Photographer

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Collection

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Date of Photo

December 11th 1936?

Named Person

Wangden Dorje Changlochen?

Region

Lhasa

Accession number

1998.131.447

Image Dimensions

159 x 109

Official, possibly Changlochen, with hair wound on top of the head and fixed with a small jewel box and wearing official's earing. Head and shoulders. The hairstyle is called pachok.

Further Information

Photographic Process

Print gelatin silver

Date Acquired

Donated 1994

Donated by

Faith Spencer Chapman

Expedition

British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37

Photo also owned by

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Previous Catologue Number

BH.14 [view film roll]

Previous Pitt Rivers Museum Number

SC.T.2.447

Other Information

Notes on print/mount - The reference 'BH.14' has been written on the back of the print in pencil [MS 27/03/2006]

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]: 'Ditto [‘Elegant’ official] sans hat'; PRM Manuscripts Collection: ‘List of Tibetan Prints and Negatives’ - Book 2: ‘ “Rogues Gallery” - 37/2 - A young nobleman’ [MS 27/03/2006]

Other Information - Cultural Background

Other Information - Cultural Background: The son's of aristocrats had to adopt this hair style from the age of sixteen. If their hair was not in this fashion, they would not be allowed to participate in government meetings and so on. If someone was dismissed from office, they would cut off his hair. Sometimes the sons of aristocrats who went for military training in the Indian Army's Military Academies would face a problem as their hair would have been cut and they would not be able to participate in government meetings. Some would rather remain away from Tibet until their hair had grown long again than face this humiliation [TS 17/2/2005]

Other Information - Setting

Other Information - Setting: Mission Diary entry for December 11th 1936: "Changlo-chhen, a young official, called on Gould" ['Lhasa Mission, 1936: Diary of Events', Part X p. 3, written by Chapman] [MS 27/03/2006]

Other Information - Related Images

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. This image comes towards the end of the sequence, suggesting that it may be the young official Changlo-chhen, who it is detailed in the Mission Diary visited Gould on December 11th [MS 16/03/2006]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Changlochen?" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_1998.131.447.html>.

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