2001.59.1.76.1 (Film negative)
2001.59.1.76.1 (Film negative)
Hugh E. Richardson
Hugh Richardson
March 8th 1937
Lhasa > Meadow north of Potala
2001.59.1.76.1
54 x 43 mm
Negative film nitrate
Donated August 2001
The executors of the estate of Hugh E. Richardson
Hugh E. Richardson
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 - Notes on negative index - Folio 76. 'RDZONG RGYAP ZHABS 'BEL' [KC 17/7/2006]
Manual Catalogues - Richardson's Hand List: 'Negative album No.1. ... The Rdzong-rgyab Zhabs-'bel This ceremony takes place on the 26th day of the 1st month (The Byams-pa gdan 'dren on 25th is in another neagative file). The Rdzong-rgyab Zhabs-'bel, "The Gallop at the back of the Fort" takes place on a sandy plain to the north of the Potala, near the Lha-klu house. It is the exercise for the rta-dmag , feudal cavalry. No. 76. Some officials at the ceremony.' [KC 26/7/2006]
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] This is a double exposure. [KC 26/7/2006]
Other Information - Background: See Hugh E. Richardson, Ceremonies of the Lhasa Year , 1993. London: Serindia Publications. pp. 56-7. "The name of this ceremony, the Dzongggyap Shambe, is uncertain. The common version of the spelling is rDzong-rgyab Zhabs-'bel , 'The Gallop Behind the Fort"; but there is another, rDzong-rgyab g Zhar-'phen, apparently meaning "The shooting in Succession Behind the Fort". At all events what happens is a competition between men of the Yaso's cavalry in a display of markmanship at targets suspended beside a narrow runway in a meadow north of the Potala and south of the Lhalu mansion. Tents are pitched there for the Kashag and high officials and for foreign guests; lesser officials sit on rugs on the ground in order of precedence; places are allotted to boys of the Tse school, servants of government offices and the Dalai Lama's dancing boys; and a tent is set up for the cooks who provide the refreshments, in recognition perhaps that this has been an unusually busy month for them. ..." (p. 56) [KC 23/10/2006]
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.
"Officials at Dzonggyab Shambe festival"
05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum.
<http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.59.1.76.1.html>.
For more information about photographic usage or to order prints, please visit the The Pitt Rivers Museum.
© The Pitt Rivers Museum
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