Dalai Lama portrait highlight of Sir Basil Gould collection

The Collection and Archive of Sir Basil Gould achieved some impressive results in the recent sale at Bonhams in London, with one of the highlights a portrait of the Dalai Lama by the distinguished Indian artist Krishna Kanwal.

The painting entitled The Dalai Lama on the throne on 22 February 1940 achieved a hammer of £152,800.

Elsewhere in the sale, a series of 40 original watercolours by the same artist depicting Sir Basil’s mission to Lhasa in 1940 and portraying a cast of characters at the enthronement sold for £457,600. The evocative works, which have never been offered at auction before, were a visual record of a pivotal moment in Tibetan history.

The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) was enthroned in Lhasa, Tibet on 22 February 1940. He was aged four. Among those present was Sir Basil Gould (1883-1956), the Political Officer for Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet who was appointed to represent the British government.

Another exceptional lot was Gould’s personal archive, including seven extensive photograph albums containing over 1,500 images from his 1936-1937 British Mission to Lhasa, which sold for £57,550. These albums provide a visual insight into Tibet during the first half of the 20th century. The sale also includes a significant quantity of 16mm Kodachrome cine film shot by Gould, some of which was screened for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral in 1937, which fetched £19,200.

Further highlights include Gould’s personal diplomatic uniform by Ranken & Co., Calcutta, which sold for £640; his medals and decorations, which fetched £3,584, and a collection of rare Tibetan manuscripts and books, including his 1941 report on the recognition and enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama in both English and Tibetan, which fetched £14,080.

The auction also featured a variety of Buddhist art, including a set of three 18th/19th-century parcel-gilt Buddha figures, which fetched £10,880; a 19th-century thangka of Tsangpa Karpo, selling for £6,400, and an early Ming Dynasty cloisonné enamel incense burner, which collected £10,880.

Giles Peppiatt, Bonhams Group Head of Pictures, commented: “The Gould Collection has been one of the most extraordinary and profoundly important historical sales I have ever been involved with. The centrepiece, Krishna Kanwal’s oil work of The Dalai Lama on the throne on 22 February 1940 documents the enthronement of the Dalai Lama – at the age of four – by an artist who was on the spot. It also conveys the sense of spiritual wisdom emanating from this small boy, something that was much remarked upon by those who met him. We are also delighted with the result for the watercolours depicting the ceremonies, dignitaries and enthronement of the Dalai Lama, which are as beautiful as they are significant.”