Key Information

Photographer

Arthur Hopkinson

Collection

A. J. Hopkinson

Date of Photo

July 7th 1927?

Region

Gyantse Region > Gobshi >

Accession number

BMH.D.34.1

Image Dimensions

85 x 106

A group of people, men and women, seated outside in a courtyard with spinning wheels preparing wool to be used in the local carpet industry. Two women wearing very large Gyantse-region hooped head-dresses are seated in the lower right of the image [a closer view of these women can be seen in BMH.D.35.1]. Open weave baskets full of wool can be seen in the left of the frame. Hopkinson visited Gobshi on a number of occasions [see Notes]. Gobshi was about 4 miles from Gyantse and was well known for its carpet industry, which Hopkinson was interested in photographing.

Further Information

Activity

Spinning

Photographic Process

Negative film nitrate

Expedition

A. J. Hopkinson's Tour of Duty as British Trade Agent, Gyantse, 1927-28

Other Information

In Negative - An inscription has been made on the left edge of the negative in blue-black ink (probably the reference number D.34), but this has been cut in half as the film strip was divided into individual frames [MS 15/07/2006]

Notes on print/mount - Two contact prints made from this negative are contained in A. J. Hopkinson's negative case with the negative. On one print the caption "Spinning wool (Gobshi) for carpets - The wool industry Wool is Tibet's chief export" has been written on the back in pencil, as have the references 'D.34', '298[?]' and ' H6 '. The second print bears the name 'A. J. Hopkinson' and the references 'D.34' and 'H6', all handwritten in pencil [MS 15/07/2006]

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - [Caption in A. J. Hopkinson's negative album 'Tibet D']: 'Gobshi weaving' [MS 28/04/2006]

Other Information - Dates

Other Information - Dates: Hopkinson mentions visiting Gobshi twice in his journals. On the first occasion he went on March 20th and saw carpets being made and visited the Chapel [A. J. Hopkinson Archive, OIOC British Library, Mss Eur D998/54, Journal Letters from Gyantse and Various Camps, 1927-28, commencing March 20th 1927, Gyantse, page 10]. The second occasion is related as taking place on July 7th, when he accompanied a French traveller called Mlle Lafugie. As most of the images in the 'D' Album of negatives seem to have been taken in the second half of 1927, especially around July, this has been suggested as the most likely date for the taking of this image [MS 15/07/2006]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Spinning wool at Gobshi near Gyantse" 05 Dec. 2006. The British Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_BMH.D.34.1.html>.

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