Photo 606

Collection of loose prints, with general typewritten captions for each group. These prints were originally sent to the India Office as part of an investigation into the removal of works of art from the Pagan temples by a German archaeologist. In 1899 a private party led by Th. H. Thomann visited Pagan and started to remove artefacts from the site. Although they were discovered and their belongings searched, it later transpired that they had succeeded in taking a number of frescoes and wall plaques. It proved impossible to compile an accurate list of the missing items, since no full inventory existed. It was suspected, however, that much of this material eventually ended up in a Berlin Museum, and towards the end of the First World War the question was raised as to whether propaganda value could be made of this theft as an example of German cultural vandalism. It was also suggested that the return of these objects could become part of the peace negotiations. Both these suggestions were overruled since, as officials noted, Thomann had acted as a private individual and his theft had in fact been strongly condemned by Germany at the time. In addition, it was pointed out by M. C. Seton that 'it is doubtful if we can afford to throw stones. I heard Dr Stein at a public lecture describe how he had bribed a Chinese monk to steal a valuable document for him!' As to the question of bringing the matter into the peace negotiations, it was noted with evident justice that 'it is inconceivable that people wd. consent to go on fighting while we haggle over Burmese curios'. The photographs in this collection form part of the correspondence relating to this matter and were removed from IOR/L/P&S/11/139/4446.

In the correspondence noted above the German archaeologist is incorrectly named as 'Herr Thomann Gillis'. Some account of Thomann's depredations, his attempts to sell the material on the open art market and the eventual acquisition of many of the treasures by the Hamburg Ethnological Museum, can be found in Paul Strachan, 'Pagan, art and architecture of old Burma' (Kiscadale Publications, 1989). Thomann later published a work on Pagan entitled, 'Pagan, ein Jahrtausend Buddischichen Tempelkunst' (Stuttgart, 1923).

Process = Silver printing-out papers