Tibet Through the 1930s: A Lieutenant's Photographic Record

Tibet in the 1930s through the Eyes of a Lieutenant' is a collection of 81 black-and-white photographs taken by Lieutenant Fleming Mackenzie between 1938 and 1939 while he escorted a trade mission in Tibet. Among them is the image 'Women of Phari Dzong Displaying married women's aprons and fur hats (Puksha).' Donated to the Royal Asiatic Society Archives in 2022 by his daughter Ann O'Neill, these photos record the natural landscapes, cultural customs, and historical moments of Tibet and Sikkim.

Over more than eight decades, these images have lost none of their clarity. They function as more than supplementary documentation of a military operation; they offer a view into the social conditions and human character of Tibet at that time. Mackenzie's camera was measured and honest, making his work both a record of a historical period and a quiet homage. We now invite you to follow these pictures into this closed chapter of visual memory.

A photograph captures six people—three women, two of them European, and three men—including Subedar Warryam Singh of the 1st Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment, as well as members of A Company, taken in the Amo Chu River Valley at 10,000 feet. Another image shows Mackenzie alongside a Sikh orderly at Tang La Pass (15,200 feet), with Kanchenjunga and the distant Parilung Mountains visible behind them. In Gyantse, January 1939, a photograph documents the saddle cloth Mackenzie had designed for polo matches.

In January 1939, a photograph was taken showing members of the German expedition, including Ernst Schäfer, along with Mackenzie and others. On the back, Mackenzie wrote, "Keeping distance from the Germans." Another photo from 1939 features the noble couple, their seven-year-old son, and others. In Gyantse during 1939, Professor Giuseppe Tucci—an Italian Tibetologist—was photographed with his wife Julia Tucci and an Italian secretary.

Photographed in July 1939 were the Potala Palace from various angles, including its reflections, along with front and western side perspectives. At the top appears the White Stupa of Palcho Monastery in Gyantse, while the reflection of Chomolhari is seen in BhamTso Lake. The 1939 collection includes “Nature and Architecture Medical College (Chok Puri) in Lhasa.” Among the history and events recorded is the grave of Bertie Warren, photographed in 1939 at the Yadong Christian Cemetery; Warren was a Second Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment, who died of pneumonia.

Of the two officials holding him, the taller was Sonaw, the Sikkim official's private secretary. Culture and Rituals