IDNO

P.97029.WIL

Description

On Cech’s list describing prints:
“(58-135 where taken in Lhasa.)
107a/b/c. “Children’s party at Dekyi-lingka 2.9.33”
mpow: 117-8; 197” [printed text]
For more information see Cech’s list.

A children’s party in the garden of Dekyilingka. Two rows of children wearing hats sit opposite each other on rugs. In between them are several little tables with small cups and plates of food placed on them. On the right sit several adults.

Place

C Asia; Tibet; Lhasa; Dekyi Lingka

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Williamson, Frederick

Collector / Expedition

Date

2 September 1933

Collection Name

Williamson Collection

Source

Williamson, Margaret

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

Bibliographical Reference: Margaret Williamson writes, “We held our children’s party on 2 September. Our young guests were due to arrive at half past two but the first of them began to show up at eleven and Norbhu had to keep them at bay for three hours while we frantically got on with the preparations, in which we were kindly assisted by Jigme and Mary-la Taring, Dingcha and several other Tibetan friends. Over forty children came and had great fun and games. We laid on a treasure hunt for them, a potato race, musical bumps, an egg-and-spoon race (with real eggs, which, thankfully. they mostly managed not to break!), a sack-race and a thread-and-needle race. Then there was a huge tea complete with fruit jelly, which they had never seen before and which caused a great deal of merriment! Afterwards we took them inside for a cinema show, putting on Fritz the Cat and Charlie Chaplin, which caused more hilarity. They were all presented with prizes and eventually they left - with enormous reluctance! - around half past five, each child carrying away a little package of the resourceful Pinjo’s excellent toffee. It all went off happily and I was told on good authority that it was certain to be the talk of Lhasa for months to come as nothing of the kind had ever happened there before.” [Source: p.117 Memoirs of a Political Officer’s Wife in Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan by Margaret D. Williamson, Wisdom Publications, 1987. CJ 26/8/2008]

Place: Dekyilingka - “The house in Lhasa lent to the British Mission by Kundeling monastery served as the headquarters of the 1936 British Mission to Lhasa. Dekyilingka translates as the 'Happy Garden'.” [Source: The Tibet Album, http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/glossary.php#Shol, JD 14/5/2008]

Publication: Detail of duplicate image published alongside detail of P.97070.WIL in MAA's Digital Lab blog 'A Ceremonial Cup of Tea', 20 June 2023, and captioned: "Figures 16 and 17. Left – Detail of a photograph of the children’s party showing tea served in both tea cups with handles and a wide cup without a handle. MAA N.103704.WIL. Right – Detail of a photograph of the ladies party showing women drinking from both tea cups with handles and a wide cup without a handle. MAA P.97070.WIL. Photographed and donated by Margaret Williamson. Williamson Collection." [Source: https://www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2023/06/20/a-ceremonial-cup-of-tea/, JD 10/07/2023]

Transcription: 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]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Caspian James 26/8/2008]