2001.35.355.1 (Print Black & White)
Raw Image
Frederick Spencer Chapman
Evan Yorke Nepean
October 3rd 1936
Evan Nepean
Lhasa > Dekyi Lingka
2001.35.355.1
106 x 72 mm
Print silver
Loaned August 2002
Judy Goldthorp
British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37
Lady Nepean
CX.18 [view film roll]
Notes on print/mount - 'Richardson, Nepean, Chang girls; [ink no:] 73; [pencil no:] CX/18 ; [blue no:] 53A'; from an envelope marked 'Parties'. [KC 07/08/2006]
Manual Catalogues - Caption in Chapman's hand-written list of negatives made whilst on the Mission to Lhasa, 1936-7 [See PRM Manuscripts Collection]: 'Lunch outside' [MS 07/08/2006]
Research publication - Clare Harris and Tsering Shakya (eds.) 2003 'Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947' (Serindia Publications, Chicago). Page 53.
Exhibition - This image appeared in the 2003 Temporary Exhibition at the Pitt Rivers "Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947"
Biographical Information - Evan Nepean (1909-2002) was a member of the Royal Corps of Signals and was posted to Lhasa in 1936 to work for Gould. Along with Dagg his job was to set up and operate the portable wireless which the British took with them. This had a great impact in curbing the power of the Chinese Mission as it provided another route through which information could be sent into and out of Lhasa. As well as this Nepean and Dagg were in charge of entertainment setting up PA systems and film shows for the various Tibetans with whom the British interacted. He was also an amateur photographer often accompanying and assisting Spencer Chapman on his photographic excursions. Nepean compiled a personal album of photographs from his time in Lhasa. He was only in the city for three months before being re-posted.
Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'CX.' taken on the British Mission to Lhasa of 1936-37 comprise a group of negatives containing images of Phendong and his house, grinding grain, officials (5th rank), Rupon, doctors, artists at work, official’s at Regent’s departure. They all seem to have been taken between October 2nd - 6th 1936 [MS 07/08/2006]
Other Information - Setting: Mission Diary for October 3rd: "Today we gave the last of our big lunch parties. The guests were officials below the fourth rank. They were as easy to entertain as all our earlier guests and it was an enjoyable afternoon but we were all relieved to see the end of a week of parties" ['Lhasa Mission, 1936: Diary of Events', Part VII p. 2, written by Hugh Richardson]. See Bodleian Library Hugh Richardson Archive MS. Or. Richardson 3 folio 42 for a fuller description of this event.
For Citation use:
The Tibet Album.
"4th and 5th Rank officials at Dekyi Lingka party"
05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum.
<http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.35.355.1.html>.
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