Key Information

Photographer

Hugh E. Richardson

Collection

Hugh Richardson

Date of Photo

March 6th 1937

Named Person

Ganden Tri Rinpoche

Region

Lhasa > Jokhang (main entrance from Doring house)

Accession number

2001.59.1.72.1

Image Dimensions

54 x 43 mm

The Ganden Tripa (dga' ldan khri pa) or Abbot of Ganden, leaving the Jokhang during the Monlam Torgya ceremony. A ceremonial umbrella is being held above him and he is preceded by a line of monks carrying censers and sticks of insense. Behind him is another group of monks and the beginning of the procession of laymen carrying Victory Banners (rgyal tshen). Mainly monk onlookers line the street.

Further Information

Activity

Ritual Activity , Worshipping

Photographic Process

Negative film nitrate

Date Acquired

Donated August 2001

Donated by

The executors of the estate of Hugh E. Richardson

Expedition

Hugh E. Richardson

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Notes on negative album - '1' 'Chipsha: Dzonggyab [rdzong rgyab]: Torgyap [gtor rgyag] ----- [illegible]' is written in white in Richardson's hand. Notes inside negative album: white label with Richardson's name and address in St. Andrews. [KC 8/7/2006]

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Notes on negative index - Folio 72. KHRI RINPOCHE LEAVES [KC 17/7/2006]

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Richardson's Hand List: Negative album No.1 nos. 72-3. 'Th Khri Rin-po-che of Dga' ldan leaves at the end of the ceremony'. [KC 26/7/2006]

Other Information - Background: See Hugh E. Richardson, Ceremonies of the Lhasa Year , 1993. London: Serindia Publications. pp. 46-7. "When the procession from the Jokhang has left it is followed by shortly by the Ganden Tri Rinpoche who comes out of the Jokhang wearing robes of maroon and a yellow, peaked, monastic hat with a tasselled eyeshade. He is preceded by a file of monks with sticks of incense and followed by a large retinue of yellow hatted Geshes with shawls each carrying a maroon blanket in front of him. A yellow state umbrella is carried behind the Tri Rinpoche". [KC 26/7/2006]

Other Information - The Tri Rinpoche ( 'khri rin po che ) also known as Ganden Tripa ( dga' ldan khri pa ) meaning 'Throne holder of the Ganden Monastery', is the highest authority in Gulugpa (dge lugs pa) school of Tibetan Buddhism. [TS 9/2/2005]

Technical Information - This image seems to have been taken with a Zeiss Super Ikonta C camera. This was a 6x9 format camera but came with a film plane mask that enabled 6x4.5 images to be taken. This enabled 16 images to be taken on a roll of 120 film as opposed to 8 without the mask [MS 6/10/2005]

Other Information - Dates

Other Information - Dates: In a letter to his parents dated November 6th 1936, Hugh Richardson commented that he was investigating buying a new Zeiss Super Ikonta camera [Hugh Richardson Manuscript Archive, Bodleian Library, MS. Or. Richardson 3 folio 46]. On March 29th 1937 he comments in a further letter to his parents that it would probaby be better to use the larger image frame [MS Or Richardson 3 folio 82]. This has assisted the dating of this image to 1937 [MS 6/10/2005]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Ganden Tripa, Ganden Abbot, during Monlam Torgya" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.59.1.72.1.html>.

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