Key Information

Photographer

Rabden Lepcha?

Collection

Sir Charles Bell

Date of Photo

May 18th 1921?

Region

Lhasa > Norbu Lingka > Lukhang

Accession number

1998.285.279.1

Image Dimensions

120 x 163 mm

Verandah of pavilion adjacent to Snake Temple or lukhang on pond in Norbu Lingka. The 13th Dalai Lama spent much of his time in this place. Seat of bearskin with cloisonne lion behind; elephant tusk in background; low table with jade tea cup on left; high table on right with Chinese porcelain figures; steps in foreground leading to inner room where blessings are given. The Dalai Lama would sit on the rug by the low table

Further Information

Photographic Process

Negative glass plate gelatin , Negative Half Plate

Date Acquired

Donated 1983

Donated by

St Antony's College, Oxford.

Copy difference

Lantern Tape

Expedition

Sir Charles Bell's Mission to Lhasa 1920-21

Photo also owned by

Royal Central Asiatic Society

Previous Catologue Number

H.255

Previous Pitt Rivers Museum Number

BL.H.255

Published

'Tibet Past & Present', Sir Charles Bell, Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1924 [view list of illustrations]

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Bell's List of Illustrations entry: "[No. of chapter] L. [Subject of Chapter] Lhasa [Subject of Illustration] H.255 (s) Verandah of Pavilion on pond in Norbuling where Dalai Lama spends much of his time. Seat of bearskin with cloisonne lion behind elephant tusk in background; low table with jade tea cup on left; high table on right with Chinese porcelain figures; steps in foreground leading to inner room where blessings are given. In summer especially he spends whole days here. [Where placed - book page] I, 133. [Remarks] L.237 (D.L)"

Contemporary Publication -

Contemporary Publication - Published in 'Tibet Past & Present', Bell, C. A., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924, facing p.133:"The Pavilion by the Lake. The Dalai Lama's verandah - sitting room. In it are valuable presents from Emperors of China. The Lama sits on the rug by the low table on which is the jade teacup"

Contemporary Publication -

Contemporary Publication - Published in 'Portrait of the Dalai Lama', Bell, C. A., London: Collins, 1946, facing p.240:"The Pavilion by the Lake."

Technical Information - In the PRM contact print made in the 1980s, a white strip can be seen across the right-hand side of the image, which seems to resemble a partially broken off strip of black tape of the kind that Bell commonly attached to the edges of some images. However, there is no evidence of this strip on the negative today, although there may be some suggestion of tape which has come loose and been lost. [MS 5/7/2004]

Other Information - Dates

Other Information - Dates: This photograph may have been taken on May 18th 1921, when Bell was given a special invitation by the Dalai Lama to enter the inner enclosure of the Norbu Lingka to see the gardens and the progress of the seedlings that he had brought as a present for the Dalai Lama from the Government of India [Bell's Diary Vol. X, pp. 59-60] [MS 20/02/2006]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Verandah of Dalai Lama's pavilion in Norbu Lingka" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_1998.285.279.1.html>.

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