Captain Linnaeus Tripe (English, 1822-1902)
"No. 108. Rangoon. South Entrance of Shwe Dagon Pagoda." Burma, 1855
Albumenized salt print from a waxed paper negative
25.9 x 34.3 cm mounted on 45.6 x 58.4 cm paper
Signed "L. Tripe" in ink. Photographer's blindstamp and printed label with plate number, title and "The road which leads to this, is, on festival days, crowded with Burmese men, women, and children, in gay silks and muslins carrying offerings to the Pagoda." on mount
A view looking towards the steps and southern gateway of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda at Rangoon (Yangon) in Burma (Myanmar). Tripe wrote, 'The road which leads to this, is, on festival days, crowded with Burmese, men, women, and children, in gay silks and muslins carrying offerings to the Pagoda'. According to legend, the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, most revered of all the Buddhist monuments of Burma, was founded in the lifetime of the Buddha as a reliquary to enshrine eight hairs from his head brought back from India by two merchant brothers, Tapissa and Balika. While the core of the stupa may be very ancient, the whole is relatively more recent. It has been rebuilt several times from the 14th century onwards and the structure as seen by Tripe's mission dates from the 1770s when King Hsinbushin of the Konbaung dynasty made many improvements to it. The ascent to the stupa on its platform is by four stairways from the four cardinal points. The southern stairway is the traditional entrance to the Shwe Dagon although today people also use the eastern stairway. In 1855 a British mission was sent to King Mindon Min of Burma to negotiate a settlement regarding Pegu, annexed by the British after the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852. Linnaeus Tripe was the official photographer on this mission and his architectural and topographical views of the country form an important record.