Top of page

About this Item

Title

  • Obo.

Summary

  • This view of an obo is from a collection of 50 photographs of central Tibet acquired in 1904 from the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in Saint Petersburg by the American Geographical Society. According to W.W. Rockhill in The Land of Lamas (1891): "Obo is a Mongolized Tibetan word, do bong, 'pile of stones' or do bum, 'ten myriad stones'. They are found all over Mongolia and Tibet. In many countries shepherds put up small ones as guides to take their flocks to water, or to go to camp." The photographer, Ovshe (O.M.) Norzunov, noted that this obo measured some six meters in height, and was located on the road from Lhasa to Depung monastery (also seen as De-Pung, De-p'ung, Debang, Drabung, Dabung, Brebung, or Brasbung in other sources), and was nearer to Depung than to Lhasa. The photographs in this collection were taken by two Mongolian Buddhist lamas, G.Ts. Tsybikov and O.M. Norzunov, who visited Tibet in 1900 and 1901. Accompanying the photos is a set of notes written in Russian for the Imperial Russian Geographical Society by Tsybikov, Norzunov, and other Mongolians familiar with central Tibet. Alexander Grigoriev, corresponding member of the American Geographical Society, translated the notes from Russian into English in April 1904.

Names

  • Norzunov, Ovshe M. Photographer.
  • Tsybikov, G. Ts. (Gonbochzhab Tsebekovich), 1873-1930 Associated Name.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1900 to 1901]

Headings

  • -  China--Tibet
  • -  1900 to 1901
  • -  Mounds
  • -  Rocks

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 photograph ; 5.5 x 8.5 inches.
  • -  Reference extracted from World Digital Library: W.W. Rockhill, The Land of Lamas (New York: Century, 1891).
  • -  Original resource at: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Views of Great Tibet

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670624

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Norzunov, Ovshe M. Photographer, and G. Ts Tsybikov. Obo. China Tibet, 1900. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1901] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670624/.

APA citation style:

Norzunov, O. M. P. & Tsybikov, G. T. (1900) Obo. China Tibet, 1900. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1901] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670624/.

MLA citation style:

Norzunov, Ovshe M. Photographer, and G. Ts Tsybikov. Obo. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1901] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670624/>.