Key Information

Photographer

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Collection

Hugh E. Richardson

Date of Photo

October 14th - 17th 1936?

Region

Lhasa > Trapshi

Accession number

BMR.86.1.46.3

Stone lion at the entrance to the former Chinese Amban's compound. The Chinese Amban resided here until 1912 when he was expelled from Tibet along with the Chinese occupying forces in Lhasa. Mules and pack animals can be seen in the background. A settlement in the distance and mountains rising steeply from the Lhasa plain beyond this

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.16.13 [view film roll]

Related Collections

F. S. Chapman Collection in the Pitt Rivers Museum

This Image also appears in another collection

1998.131.268

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]: 'Chinese lion at Trapje facing R. profile'; PRM Manuscripts Collection: ‘List of Tibetan Prints and Negatives’ - Book 4: ‘26/3 - Stone lion outside Lhasa’ [MS 16/03/2006]

Other Information - Related Images

Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'C.16' comprise a group of negatives containing images of the Regent’s boat waiting for his departure, a mission picnic, the Potala, old beggar monk and Chinese lions at Trapje. They all seem to have been taken between October 6th - 17th 1936. It has been possible to identify this as the image referenced by Chapman as 'C.16.13' by cross-referencing it to the image found in the draft album of mission photographs that was loaned to the PRM for display in the 2003 temporary exhibition "Seeing Lhasa" [MS 16/03/2006]

Other Information - Description: Chapman briefly describes the location of the former compound of the Chinese Amban in his publication Lhasa the Holy City [London: Chatto & Windus, 1938; reprint, London: Readers Union Ltd., 1940]. He wrote: "To the south is a ruined gateway and part of the old city wall. Along the eastern side of this square in former times was the residence of the Chinese Amban with its considerable barracks, theatre, restaurant, and gardens. The place is completely ruined, but two Chinese lions of granite still stand in front of the ruined wall, eloquent of their vanished power" [1940, p.151] [MS 26/3/2005]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Stone lion at Trapchi" 05 Dec. 2006. The British Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_BMR.86.1.46.3.html>.

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The Pitt Rivers Museum

The British Museum

Stone lion at Trapchi