Turmoil in Tibet: Early 20th Century Images at Bonhams
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, December 14, 2024


Turmoil in Tibet: Early 20th Century Images at Bonhams
Lot 224: topographical views. Photo: Bonhams.



LONDON.- An album of important photographs taken during the controversial British Mission to Tibet in 1903-04 is for sale at Bonhams Travel and Exploration, India and Beyond sale in London on 5 October (£10,000-15,000). The album can be traced to a member of the Mission – Lieut. William Pyt Bennett - and is believed to be the first with such a provenance to appear at auction.

The photographer was John Claude White, a Political Officer in the Indian state of Sikkim, and joint leader of the expedition with Major Francis Younghusband. Officially the mission’s purpose was to settle a border dispute between Sikkim and Tibet but it turned into a full scale invasion with the aim of establishing a strong British presence and, crucially, thwarting Russian ambitions in the area.

At the village of Guru the expeditionary force killed around 700 lightly armed Tibetan monks in a show of force which, some have claimed, bordered on massacre. When Younghusband arrived in the capital, Lhasa, in August 1904, the intimidated Tibetan government quickly signed the Lhasa Convention which effectively turned the country into a British protectorate. Two years later a separate treaty with China saw Britain agree not to annex Tibet in exchange for an undertaking from the Chinese to prevent anyone else from doing so. This achieved the major British strategic aim of keeping the Russians out.

One of White’s images shows the ‘Council of Four’ – the representatives of the Dalai Lama who signed the Lhasa Convention with the British. Another depicts the Regent for the Dalai Lama who had fled to Outer Mongolia. There is a stunning photograph of Tibetan nuns and several images of the invasion route taken as the British army made its way through the country to Lhasa.

Bonhams Director of Books, Maps and Manuscripts, David Park, said, “These are amazing early images of a country which was long closed to the West. They are also a reminder of an event in British political and military history which, though now largely forgotten, was highly controversial at the time. The Tibet Mission can be seen as one of the last significant moves in the ‘Great Game’ between Russia and the British for influence in Central Asia which had dominated the region since the early 19th Century.”










Today's News

September 16, 2010

Fossil of Giant, Bony-Toothed Bird from Chile Sets New Record for Wingspan

Michael Dweck's American Mermaids Opens at acte2galerie in Paris

Art Institute Showcases Seventeen Major Works of Pre-Columbian Art from Mexico

Tate Appoints Jessica Morgan as The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art

Official: Missing Painting Found by New York City Doorman

Crystal Bridges Museum Hires Rod Bigelow as Deputy Director

Bold and Powerfully Inventive Artist Salvator Rosa Featured in Exhibition

Major Bruno Di Bello Retrospective Opens at Fondazione Marconi

Public Art Fund Presents a New Project by Ryan Gander Entitled The Happy Prince

Spectrum Jesus by Keith Coventry Scoops UK's Biggest Painting Prize

Saint Louis Art Museum Receives Major Gift from Danforth Family

Extending the Runway: Tatiana Sorokko Style Makes U.S. Debut

New Works, Inspired on Childhood Games, by Adam Fuss at Cheim & Read

Hitler's Car Gift to Nepal King to Get a New Life

The City Bakery Opens Birdbath Café at New Museum on the Bowery

Bauhaus Archive Commemorates Hajo Rose's 100th Anniversary with Exhibition

Shortlist Announced: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010

Exhibition Explores a Foundation for Chinese Contemporary Art

Sale of Prints by Modern and Contemporary Masters Expected to Realise £5.3 Million

Miami's Museum Park Sees First Signs of Development

World-Renowned Architectural Firm Pelli Clarke Pelli to Design New University of Iowa Auditorium

Invincible WW2 Fighter Pilot's Medals for Sale at Bonhams

Pele's Final International Match Worn Shirt from 1971 to Sell at Bonhams

MoMA Exhibition Explores Design and the Modern Kitchen

Turmoil in Tibet: Early 20th Century Images at Bonhams

Gabriel Orozco Presents an Expanded Version of His Show at Centre Pompidou

Platinum Prints & Classic Snaps by Elliott Erwitt at Magnum Print Room

Table Commissioned by East Indian Royalty Headlines Austin Auction's Sale

Karl Lagerfeld's Photos on Display at Maison Europeene de la Photographie

The Turner Prize Goes to BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in 2011

Competitive Bidding Drives Prices Past Estimates at Saffronart's Autumn Online Auction

First Solo U.S. Exhibition for Italian Designer Antonio Pio at Industry Gallery

Drawings and Three-Dimensional Objects by Al Taylor at David Zwirner

Roman Signer: Four Rooms, One Artist Opens at Swiss Institute

Crystal Bridges Announces Works by Warhol, Lichtenstein

Exhibition of Works by Inner Circle of Max's Kansas City Artists Opens

Warner Bros. Presents Gift to Smithsonian; New Digital 3-D Theater

Sotheby's Presents Its Strongest Arts of The Islamic World Sale Ever Staged




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful