IDNO

P.96800.WIL

Description

On Cech’s list describing prints:
“F. W. became Political Officer in Sikkim on January 4th, 1933.
(Photos 107-132 were taken in and around Bumthang Mpow: 75-77)
110. “Archery at Bumthang 12.7.33”
110d. “Maharaja, Tennant, Peggy, Tobgye, Kumar, Maharani, Aji Pedon, Aji Wangmo 19.7.33”
See ww: Maharaja of Bhutan, Maharani of Bhutan, Aji Wangmo, Tennant, Sherriff, Ludlow, Norbhu, habbu, gyurme dorji, aji pedon.” [printed text]
For more information see Cech’s list.

The Maharaja of Bhutan and Captain David Tennant holding bows, and likely participating in the archery competition. Margaret Williamson (Peggy), Raja Sonam Tobgye Dorji, Kumar “Jimmy” (Jigme), Maharani of Bhutan, Aji Pedon, and Aji Wangmo sit at a table and watch (rather than judge) the competition. [Information provided by Dorji Penjore, Australian National University, via facebook, J 20/03/2016

Place

S Asia; Bhutan; Bumthang

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Maharaja of Bhutan; Captain David Tennant; Margaret Williamson (Peggy); Raja Sonam Tobgye Dorji; Kumar (?“Jimmy” (Jigme)); Maharani of Bhutan; Aji Pedon; Aji Wangmo

Photographer

Williamson, Frederick

Collector / Expedition

Date

19 July 1933

Collection Name

Williamson Collection

Source

Williamson, Margaret

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

Named Person: Williamson mentions Kumar; In the picture Kumar is the crown prince Jigme Dorji Wangchuk of Bhutan. Kumar probably means Prince in Hindi. [Dawa Dem 18/9/2008]

Named Person: Williamson refers to Maharani of Bhutan, Maharani is a hindi term for Queen. In Bhutan she would be called Ashi. [Dawa Dem 18/9/2008]

Named Person: Williamson refers to Aji Wangmo and Aji Pedon, the sisters of the second King of Bhutan. Aji is a common term used for Ashi (queen, and would also include princesses) in Bumthang, the region where the two sisters come from. [Dawa Dem 18/9/2008]

Named Person: Aji Wangmo is the younger sister of the second King of Bhutan. She later became a nun and a disciple of Karmapa [Dawa Dem 18/9/2008]
Named Person: Aji Pedon and Aji Wangmo are wearing ting-khab ( brooch) which are not worn anymore. [Dawa Dem 18/9/2008]

Context: The royal ladies are also wearing the traditional boots. [Dawa Dem 18/9/2008]

MAA Facebook: Image published on with the caption: Margaret Williamson donated five albums to MAA containing over 1,700 photographs from Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim taken from between 1930 and 1935, when her husband, Cambridge graduate, Frederick Williamson was the British Political Officer in the region. The photos are described as 'providing an unusually well-preserved and well-catalogued insight into social life in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet during the 1930s.'
The photos include most of the main political, secular and religious sites as well as dramatic landscapes with views of the Himalayas. Given their position, the Williamsons mixed with the higher echelons of Bhutanese, Sikkimese and Tibetan society. The images reflect a life of pomp and ceremony against an uncertain political background. The increasingly relaxed poses of the subjects in front of the camera suggest the growth of personal friendships with members of the Bhutanese and Sikkimese royal families and the Tibetan aristocracy.
In this photo Margaret is helping to judge an archery contest alongside the Maharaja and Maharani of Bhutan.
#WomensDay2016 #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2016
14 Likes; 1 Share. [JD 19/01/2017]

The transcription of this album by Mark Turin and Sara Shneiderman was carried out with reference to Krystina Cech’s catalogue list alone. Alex Nadin has since revised their cataloguing by systematically matching their records to the images. Margaret Williamson’s handwritten captions for photographs have now been transcribed into the Inscription field, and Cech’s descriptions appear in the Description field. Correct entries for Place, Named Person and Other Nos. have also been entered by Alex Nadin. [Sudeshna Guha 29/10/2002]

MAA Exhibition: Image added to MAA facebook as part of Woman's Day series 8/3/2016, with the following information:
"Margaret Williamson donated five albums to MAA containing over 1,700 photographs from Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim taken from between 1930 and 1935, when her husband, Cambridge graduate, Frederick Williamson was the British Political Officer in the region. The photos are described as 'providing an unusually well-preserved and well-catalogued insight into social life in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet during the 1930s.'
The photos include most of the main political, secular and religious sites as well as dramatic landscapes with views of the Himalayas. Given their position, the Williamsons mixed with the higher echelons of Bhutanese, Sikkimese and Tibetan society. The images reflect a life of pomp and ceremony against an uncertain political background. The increasingly relaxed poses of the subjects in front of the camera suggest the growth of personal friendships with members of the Bhutanese and Sikkimese royal families and the Tibetan aristocracy.
In this photo Margaret is helping to judge an archery contest alongside the Maharaja and Maharani of Bhutan.
‪#‎WomensDay2016‬ ‪#‎InternationalWomensDay‬ ‪#‎IWD2016‬" [JD 22/03/2016]

Publication: The photograph has been digitised for the European Collected Library of Artistic Performance (ECLAP) and is accessible on the portal http://www.eclap.eu/drupal/. [SG 31/10/2012]