Key Information

Photographer

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Collection

Hugh E. Richardson

Date of Photo

October 18th 1936

Region

Lhasa Area > Sera

Accession number

BMR.86.1.21.1

Interior of Sera Monastery. One of the Assembly Halls, with many pillars covered with textiles and with textile banners hanging from the joists. Elaborate wall paintings can bee seen around the upper walls of the room. Cushions upon which the monks would sit are positioned in rows across the floor

Further Information

Photographic Process

Print gelatin silver

Expedition

British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37

Photo also owned by

Donated to the British Museum in 1986 by Hugh E. Richardson

Previous Catologue Number

C.8.23 [view film roll]

Related Collections

F. S. Chapman Collection in the Pitt Rivers Museum

This Image also appears in another collection

1998.131.364

Other Information

Notes on print/mount - An asterisk has placed alongside this image in the album [MS 12/06/2006]

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]: 'Sera interior'; PRM Manuscripts Collection: ‘List of Tibetan Prints and Negatives’ - Book 2: ‘19/3 - A hall in Drepung monastery with cushions for monks’. Note: Although the latter comment identifies this as being in Drepung Monastery, the photographic reference number indicates that this is one of a series of images taken in Sera [MS 22/03/2006]

Other Information - Album: This image appears alongside three others of Sera and Drepung Monasteries on page 21 of Hugh Richardson's album 'Lhasa 1936' [MS 12/06/2006]

Other Information - Cultural Background

Other Information - Cultural Background: Tibetan rooms are measured by the number of pillars that they have. [TS 7/2/2005]

Other Information - Cultural Background

Other Information - Cultural Background: Usually there would be a rough covering over the cushions where the monks would sit but that is not visible here suggesting that it has been removed for cleaning or some other reason [TS 7/2/2005]

Other Information - Related Images

Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'C.8' comprise a group of negatives containing images of the Potala and Lhasa, officials coming through Pargo Kaling, the Turquoise Bridge, Tsarong, Trimon, views from and of Sera, a woman washing clothes, a shepherd with a sling and football teams. They seem to have been taken October 13th - 20th 1936 [MS 16/03/2006]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Assembly Hall, Sera Monastery" 05 Dec. 2006. The British Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_BMR.86.1.21.1.html>.

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