Front cover image for To Lhasa and Shigatse

To Lhasa and Shigatse

C. Suydam Cutting (Photographer), Arthur Stannard Vernay (Photographer), American Museum of Natural History, Cutting-Vernay Expedition to Tibet of the American Museum of Natural History
This film documents the Vernay-Cutting expedition to Tibet, led by Charles Suydam Cutting and Arthur Stannard Vernay. Its purpose was to collect ethnological objects for the AMNH and botanical specimens for the Kew Gardens in England. In Gyantse, Tibet, women's headdresses are shown. Lhasas are shown spinning and sewing, leading pack animals in caravans, and carrying supplies on their backs. Footage of the forbidden cities of Shigatse and Lhasa, including the Tibetan monastery at Gyantse, with their chortens and prayer wheels, is also shown. En route to Lhasa, the beauty of the Himalayas and their valleys is recorded. The Fort of Penadzong on the road to Lhasa is also filmed as are the coracles (circular skin boats) used by the expedition staff for travel
Video, English, 1935
American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1935