Summary
- Collection ID:
- NAA.PhotoLot.76-122
- Creators:
-
Russkoe geograficheskoe obshchestvo
- Dates:
-
circa 1900
- Languages:
-
- Physical Description:
-
50 Mounted prints
platinum
- Repository:
-
Scope and Contents note
Scope and Contents note
Photographs documenting Tibetan monasteries, Potala Palace, Tibetan women, cities, and scenery in Central Tibet, including the region's capital, Lhasa. Prints are in a boxed set issued by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (Russkoe geograficheskoe obshchestvo).
Biographical/Historical note
Biographical/Historical note
G. Ts. Tsybikov was a Russian-educated Buriat scholar and a Buddhist who made a pilgrimage to Lhasa in 1899-1902. He documented his pilgrimage in photographs and made extensive notes on Tibetan society and politics. In May 1903, he presented his photographs and report to the Geographical Society, which won him the society's Przhevalskii prize. Ovshe M. Norzunov was a Mongolian Kalmuk who also traveled to Tibet as a Buddhist pilgrim, in 1989, 1900, and 1901. Because of their Mongolian heritage, Tsybikov and Norzunov were able to enter Lhasa at a time when Western visitors were barred from the city. Their photographs, published in the January 1905 issue of National Geographic, are noted for having created the magazine's "hallmark" photographic focus.
Administration
Custodial History note
The photographs were donated to the Smithsonian Libraries circa 1904, possibly by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. They were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives in 1976.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Preferred Citation note
Photo lot 76-122, Imperial Russian Geographical Society photographs of Central Tibet, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Location of Other Archival Materials
Location of Other Archival Materials
Digital surrogates of a similar set of photographs are held by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.
Other Finding Aids note
Other Finding Aids note
Inventory available in repository
Keywords
National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu
