Cavalry wearing ancient armour at Trapshi Tsisher

Cavalry wearing ancient armour at Trapshi Tsisher

2001.59.1.16.1 (Film negative)

Image for comparison
spacer

Compare

Raw Image

Key Information

Photographer

Hugh E. Richardson

Collection

Hugh Richardson

Date of Photo

March 5th 1937

Region

Lhasa > Trapshi

Accession number

2001.59.1.16.1

Image Dimensions

54 x 43 mm

Cavalry riders in ancient armour and weapons with crowd in the background at the Trapshi Tsisher. There is a narrow length of carpet on the right hand side and a small table with a wooden teacup and lid.

Further Information

Activity

Riding , Ritual Activity

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 10. 'GRWA BZHI RTSIS BSHER' [sic.]; [ Trapshi Tsisher (gra phyi rtsis bsher) Review at Trapshi] [KC 8/7/2006]

Manual Catalogues -


Manual Catalogues - Richardson's hand list: Negative album No.1 'New Year Ceremonies at Lhasa' [nos. 1 -16] ' The Grwa bzhi (or Phyi) bsher [typed and] 'Rtsis bsher' handwritten in Richardson's hand. "This is a review of the rta-dmag , the old feudal cavalry of whom each noble family had to provide a detachment. It takes place on the sandy plain near the army barracks at Grwa-bzhi on the 23rd of the Tibetan 1st month.
No 13-16. "More of the different detachment". [KC 15/7/2006]

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 - Background: See Hugh E. Richardson, Ceremonies of the Lhasa Year , 1993, London: Serindia Publications, pp 31-37 for a description of the preparations and the actual day of the Review at Trapshi. The cavalry wear "chain-mail, much of it mere remnants, steel breast plates, steel helmets with brocade lappets and peacock plumes, heavy cloth trousers decorated with blue devices, and special boots. ..." (p. 34) [KC 15/7/2006]

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. "Cavalry wearing ancient armour at Trapshi Tsisher" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.59.1.16.1.html>.

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

© The Pitt Rivers Museum