Key Information

Photographer

Sir Charles Bell

Collection

Sir Charles Bell

Date of Photo

1903-1921

Named Person

Rabden Lepcha

Region

Gangtok > British Residency

Accession number

1998.286.6.1

Image Dimensions

60 x 78

Head and shoulders portrait of Rabden orderly

Further Information

Photographic Process

Negative Quarter Plate , Copy Negative

Date Acquired

Donated 1983

Donated by

St Antony's College, Oxford

Copy difference

Copy Neg Intensifier Lantern

Expedition

Sir Charles Bell

Previous Catologue Number

Q.8

Previous Pitt Rivers Museum Number

BL.Q.8

Related Collections

British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections

Published

'The People of Tibet', Sir Charles Bell, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928 [view list of illustrations]

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Bell's List of Illustrations entry: "[No. of chapter] I. [Subject of Chapter] Sikkim [Subject of Illustration] Q8 (at) Rabden Orderly, head and shoulders. [Remarks] L.7"

In Negative - There appears to have been use of an intensifying film or process on the negative over the image of Rabden [MS 4/8/2004]

Contemporary Publication -

Contemporary Publication - Published in 'The People of Tibet', Bell, C. A., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928, facing p.6:"A Lepcha"

Biographical Information - [Note that detailed information will be found on the related file named Biographies, see button at top of database] Rabden Lepcha was Sir Charles Bell's orderly for 18 years. He seems to have had a particular responsibility for taking photographs on behalf of Bell. Bell states in 'The People of Tibet', (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928, p.168) that "Rab-den Lepcha, had already to some extent learnt from me how to use my cameras, and was taking my photographic work more and more into his own hands." Many of the photographs from Lhasa taken during 1920-21 as well as others in the collection were taken by him and not by Bell. [MS 21/9/2004]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Rabden Lepcha" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_1998.286.6.1.html>.

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