seeing lhasa british depictions of the tibetan capital 1936-1947

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8/14/2019 Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947 http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/seeing-lhasa-british-depictions-of-the-tibetan-capital-1936-1947 1/4 Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947 Review by: Sudeshna Guha Journal of Museum Ethnography, No. 17, Pacific Ethnography, Politics and Museums (2005), pp. 258-260 Published by: Museum Ethnographers Group Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40793790 . Accessed: 15/11/2013 04:30 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp  . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].  .  Museum Ethnographers Group is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Museum Ethnography. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Fri, 15 Nov 2013 04:30:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Page 1: Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

8/14/2019 Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/seeing-lhasa-british-depictions-of-the-tibetan-capital-1936-1947 1/4

Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947Review by: Sudeshna GuhaJournal of Museum Ethnography, No. 17, Pacific Ethnography, Politics and Museums (2005),pp. 258-260

Published by: Museum Ethnographers GroupStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40793790 .

Accessed: 15/11/2013 04:30

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

 .JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of 

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

 .

 Museum Ethnographers Group is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal

of Museum Ethnography.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Fri, 15 Nov 2013 04:30:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

8/14/2019 Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/seeing-lhasa-british-depictions-of-the-tibetan-capital-1936-1947 2/4

Exhibition eviews

Thetemporaryxhibitionase is,bychance, longsideheAmericas ection fthepermanentallery. his means hat hevisitor an move from hetemporaryexhibition,here he abelling ocuses n thewaythat troud loth as beenused,to theobjectson permanentisplay,where he cloth s rarelymentionedn the

labels.Here, ne has to ook and find heStroudloth,uch s thedecorationnaclubhandle, hetasselson quillwork paulettes,hecloth n a pad saddleandinheaddresses. nd ookingt therest f thepermanentallery starteduestioningwhat saw- were hepatches na Mahdist unic otton r Stroud loth it ooked

very hick or otton hroughheglass),and was that troud loth n a Samoantunic?WrappingheWorlds an exhibitionhat ives lotof nformationna verysmall spectof a collection,ndmakesone startooking tcollectionswithnew

eyes.

Sue GilesBristolMuseums nd ArtGallery

SeeingLhasa: British epictions f theTibetanCapital 1936-1947.PittRiversMuseum, xford, September003 to November004.

Mainly hrough hotographs,his nformativendenjoyable xhibitionffersn

insightnto seminal eriod nAnglo-Tibetanolitical ffairs, hen,under he

statesmanshipf Sir Basil Gould thenPoliticalOfficerorSikkim), heBritish

governmentn ndia could secure or hefirstime,n 1936, relativelynduringdiplomaticelationshipithTibet nd establish residentialase in Lhasa. It isindeed n ironyhat ritain s ffortsowoo Tibet eakedduringhenadir ftheir

Raj,and a pity hat he hort-sightedritish iplomacyailed orecognisehefull

potentialsf otherxternalhreatsotheregion. onsequently,ibetwas annexed

bytheChinesen1950,barelyhree ears fter heBritishelinquishedheirndian

empire,nd was brutallyncorporatedntoChina spolitical nd culturalchemes

by1959.SeeingLhasa evokes hefree, overeign ibet, ndalthoughhedisplayprimarilyresents ritishntentions,ne is stronglyemindedhat he viewscreatedythe fficersftheRajwere o someextentonditionedytheir eers.A

goodexample rethephotographsf the eremonieseldtomark he nstallationofthefourteenth,ndthepresent,alai Lama,whichwere akennFebruary940

by Harry taunton,he urgeon hoaccompanied ouldbacktoTibet hat ear.The exhibition isplaysover seventy-fivelack and white, nd coloured,

scanned rints, hich reenlargednddigitallynhanced; our riginal lbums,includingworkingfficialolio, hasa 1936;a movie, ssembled romhe16mmand8 mm inefootageaken yFrederickhapmanGould ssecretary)n 1936-7onthe henhigh ociety fLhasa; andwatercolourortraitsfTibetan eligiousandgovernmentalignitariesrawnbyKanwalKrishna,he ndian rtist, ho

alongwithGouldandStaunton as invitedosee theDalai Lamabeing nstalled.

Krishna s ortraitsualifys oneofthe arliestxamples fpainted ortraitureftheTibetans,nd as theyrenowheld nprivateollections,he xhibitionffers

uniqueopportunityo see a selection. he photographicmageson display re

258 JournalfMuseum thnography7 (2005)

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Page 3: Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

8/14/2019 Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/seeing-lhasa-british-depictions-of-the-tibetan-capital-1936-1947 3/4

Exhibition eviews

mainly eproducedrom hepersonal ollections f theofficers ho createdhemandwhowerepart fGould scontingento Lhasa.Theyhavebeen cquired ythemuseum n recentyears, nd the exhibitions therefore rivenby a positivecuratorialmpetuso share hisnewacquisition ith wider udience.

The stylized usion f colours nd designs intrinsicallyibetan: hedeepyellow nd scarlet f therobesworn ytheirmonks ndtheblackandwhite otsthat re used to decorate he nteriorsf theirmonasteries giveswarmth o adifficultpace and stagesthe milieufor evokingTibet.However, he guidedview of the Potala (draped n a Köku and photographedy HughRichardson

duringhe goldenprocession ),hats offeredttheentrancehroughheframesof a modernhangka,s clearly imed tdispelling hotographicevelations.orthe xhibitiononveys nepoint ery learly: hat hotographsre nthemselvesinfinitelyecodable; hey re not elf-revelatory.he text anels nvite iewers oconsider he

manyways throughhich he

displayan be seen and

appreciated,encouragings toaccept hat hotographsreobjects f historicalnscription,nd,through specific arrativefBritishhotographynTibet,mplores torecognizethe mportancef visualhistories.

Photography,e are nformed,layed crucial ole nBritain s ealingswithTibet. The Britishphoto-documentationf Tibet, including heir friendlyrelationshipith heir ellow eers, .e. theTibetan ristocrats,erved politicalpurpose. t attested o a particulareality,hat he British iplomatic bjectivestowards ibet werebeingsuccessfullyulfilled. he exhibition ocuseson theresidentritish nd Tibetan opulationnLhasa (mainly etween 936 and 947),

andofferslimpsesn thenature ftheir ocial nteractions.hotographsfBritishofficersnd theTibetan elites partying,ating, rinking,laying ootball ndwatchingilmsogetherecurhroughouthedisplay, hich lso showcases menuofthefood erved tDekyi ingkatheresidence nd office ftheBritishMission)during ne of the formal uncheshostedby Gould. The imagery n displayhighlightshesignificancefvisibilitynd the mportancefbeing seen inthepolitics fpower. hroughhem,ndespecially hroughhose reated y ChapmanandRichardson, e arealso able to catch moments fpersonal riendshipsndeasy ntimacye.g. Gyaltsen uton umdowa n a swing).However,hecaptionscontinue o remind s that

manyof these

personal magesaccompanied heMissionDiariesto Whitehallcolonialoffice, ondon), nd makesus attentiveothemyriadocial functionshich hey,s photographs,ayhave served nthepast.

Inrecent ears hePittRiversMuseumhastaken pioneeringeadonresearchrelatedo thehistoriesf anthropologicalhotography,henaturefphotographs,andhistories fcollectingor he,mainly,ethnographicrchives. hemuseum scurationf ts wnphotographicollectionsasconsistentlynvestedmaterialitynphotographs.uratorialesearch as demonstratedowwith ransformationsntheir orm,nd rrespectivefthe duplicate mageryhevarious ormsmaybear,

thepremises fourenquiryhifts,nd we relocate ursearchfor ontexts,ndrelate ophotographs,nremarkablyifferentays, ndattributeastly ifferentvalues includingnformationalnd evidentialalues)toboth he nscriptivemage

Journal fMuseumEthnography7 (2005) 259

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Page 4: Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

8/14/2019 Seeing Lhasa British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/seeing-lhasa-british-depictions-of-the-tibetan-capital-1936-1947 4/4

Exhibition eviews

andthematerial orm. lthougheeing hasa gently ajolesus to ookbeyondhesurface f visualaesthetics,o appreciatehe nstrumentalityfphotography,o

rejectpossibilities f fixed meanings,nd to acquirea sense of the visual

economywithin hich hedisplayedbjectshaveparticipatednd to which hey

have dded,t sthroughhe eferenceatalogue,dited yClareHarristhe uratorof theexhibition)nd Tsering hakya, hat hese curatorial irectives re best

presented.hepublicationlsoconveys lucid nalysis f thedisparatearrativeson Tibet thatwere created hroughhotography,nd offers comprehensiveaccount f he esponsesf ndividualibetans,ncludingnstances f heirwnuseofthe camera.Thus the volumeelucidates recisely ow thedisplayed bjects(includingrishna s aintings)an beappreciateds agentsor ndeed e endowedwithmultiplegencies)within hepolitics fAnglo-Tibetaniplomacy.his s notto say thatthe exhibition s best explainedthroughhe publication, ut tounderscorehat he

ataloguesunfortunatelyandatory

or fferingiewersmanyofthe eferenceshroughhich hey an draw heir wn nferencesnhow, nd nwhat apacities, hotographsuch s thosewithwhich hey reencouragedo seeLhasaare someof themost otent istoricalbjects othink ith.

SudeshnaGuhaResearch ssociate, hotograph ollections, niversityfCambridgeMuseum fArchaeologyndAnthropology

Blackfootndians:Nitsitapiisinni:urWayofLife. Museum f Scienceand ndustry,anchester,0 Januaryo 6 June 004.

Blackfootndians:Nitsitapiisinnis basedon thepermanentxhibit hich penedin the GlenbowMuseum,Calgary, anada, in 2001, afternearly enyearsof

meetings etweenmuseum taffnd sourcecommunity embersa sevenyearperiodof generalrelationshipuilding nd negotiationsegardingoans and

repatriation,ndthree ears f dedicated ork nthe xhibit). hismarks hefirsttime heGlenbow asturned neof tspermanentisplaysnto travellingxhibit,and ts ourneyncludes hree enues:Rotterdam,heNetherlands27 September

2003to 11January004),Manchester,ngland ndGatineau, uebec,Canada 8October o 13 February005). The exhibits a direct esult ffull ollaborationbetweenheGlenbowwhichs situatednBlackfootraditionalerritory)ndfourBlackfoot ommunities Kainai,Siksika,Amsskaapipikani,ndApatohsipikanilivingnAlbertandMontana. he Blackfoot eterminedontentnd selected he

artefacts,rt nd mages ndisplay. he texts writtenntirelyromheBlackfoot

perspectivefirst erson lural), ndthe mainfocus s on the inksbetween heBlackfootndtheirand, ulturendheritage.

There s a well-definedath hroughhe xhibit. hevisitor tartsheirourneybyentering circularpaceframedytall, ngled imberogs suggestivefthe

internaltructurefa tipl.The spaceis dedicated o exploringncient lackfootstorieshat nderlineheconnectionetween eople, nimals ndthe and. Shortversionsf selectedmythsrepresentedn ow-levelnforailanels, bovewhich

260 JournalfMuseum thnography7 (2005)

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