Key Information

Photographer

Rabden Lepcha?

Collection

Sir Charles Bell

Date of Photo

April 17th 1921?

Named Person

Ragashar Family

Region

Lhasa > Ragashar House

Accession number

1998.285.214.1

Image Dimensions

120 x 163 mm

Members of one of the noble families of Lhasa, the Ragashar family. Textile hanging behind them. Sitting and standing on carpet.

Further Information

Photographic Process

Negative glass plate gelatin , Negative Half Plate

Date Acquired

Donated 1983

Donated by

St Antony's College, Oxford.

Copy difference

Lantern

Expedition

Sir Charles Bell's Mission to Lhasa 1920-21

Photo also owned by

Royal Central Asiatic Society

Previous Catologue Number

H.187

Previous Pitt Rivers Museum Number

BL.H.187

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Bell's List of Illustrations entry: "[No. of chapter] XXXII to XXXIV. [Subject of Chapter] The Religion [Subject of Illustration] H.187 (bp) The two little Rakashar Incarnations with mother and sister-in-law. Behind the Incarnations is their teacher; in front of them, two servant lads."

Other Information - Related images: This image seems to have been taken on the same occasion as 1998.285.113 and 1998.285.115 as the same textile and furnishings can be seen [MS 7/6/2004]

Contemporary Publication -

Contemporary Publication - Published in 'The People of Tibet', Bell, C. A., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928, frontispiece:"A noble family of Lhasa tracing its descent for 1400 years. Seated in left, two small sons, who are Living Buddhas, with teacher behind and boy servants in front. Mother and brother's wife beside them". [MS 10/9/2004]

Other Information - Dates

Other Information - Dates: Bell went on a short tour north of Lhasa at the beginning of April 1921. In his diary for 17th April he states:"On the way [back to Lhasa] a servant of Rakashar met us with an invitation to his house, 8 miles or so out of Lhasa. We spent a very pleasant hour conversing with the head of the family, a Depon recently returned from Eastern Tibet. Poor man, though only 35 years old (Tibetan reckoning), he is crippled with gout." [Vol. X, p.22]

Exhibition - Photograph caption from Seeing Lhasa exhibition at Pitt Rivers Museum, 7 September 2003 - 30 November 2004: "The Ragashars are one of two Lhasa families who trace their ancestry to the religious kings of Tibet (7th -9th centuries). The boys described by Bell as servants were probably employed as playmates for the young incarnates.

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Ragashar family incarnations" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_1998.285.214.1.html>.

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Ragashar family incarnations