Bidding war erupts over document that ‘proves Tibetan independence'

Telegraph

07-06-2025

When Sir Basil Gould attended the enthronement of Tibet's new Dalai Llama in 1940, it was obvious history would be unfolding before his eyes.
But 85 years later, the British diplomat's own papers are at the centre of a purported attempt to control the past.
Documents written by Sir Basil that are said to prove the independence of Tibet became engulfed in a bidding war in London this week, as followers of the Dalai Llama sought to keep them out of Chinese hands.
The document was part of a cache sold by Sir Basil's family at Bonhams on Thursday. It described how Tibet exercised 'de facto independence in internal and external affairs' before China tightened its grip in the 1950s – a claim seized on by campaigners, who say it runs counter to the Chinese narrative that the region has never been free.
Among the bidders was a former representative of the Dalai Llama, who wanted to preserve the documents for the region's historical record. But the lot ultimately sold for more than £14,000 to an anonymous buyer.
It came amid fears from Tibetan campaigners that Chinese buyers could be trying to snap up Sir Basil's estate and keep parts of it from the public eye.
Tenzin Rabga Tashi, from the London-based campaign group Free Tibet, said: 'This is what it means when not only have you lost your country, but your history is sold to the highest bidder.
'In telegrams, letters and photos, the Basil Gould collection documents vividly the gathering darkness of 1940s Tibet before China's invasion.
'Even so, the sale to unknown bidders online does not negate the irrefutable evidence of Britain's unique connection with Tibet as an independent country.'
Serving as a British trade agent in Gyantse, Tibet, from 1912 to 1913, Sir Basil went on to become a British political officer in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet for a decade from 1935.
He attended the enthronement of the Dalai Llama, taking a young artist called Kanwal Krishna with him who captured the event with a series of watercolours.
Other lots sold on Thursday included a portrait of the Tibetan leader during the ceremony. The painting, which sold for £152,800, was also among those that Tibetans were keen to keep from Chinese hands ahead of the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday next month.
Another lot – a collection of 40 watercolours from Krishna's 1939 to 1940 visit to Lhasa with Sir Basil – sold for £457,600.
In a video promoting the sale, Giles Peppiatt, head of fine art at Bonhams, said: 'These are extraordinarily rare images and to have these images from a first-hand source is unprecedented.
'The Gould collection shows a remarkable insight into Tibet in the 1940s and most importantly shows us the principal characters in the divination, in the search and the enthronement of the 14th Dalai Llama.'
Today Tibet is recognised as part of the People's Republic of China, known as the Tibet Autonomous Region.
China claims to have held control over Tibet since the 13th century. However, many dispute this narrative, with independence advocates arguing the country in fact had long periods of freedom to run its own affairs.
The document in question, which archivists understand was written by Sir Basil, appears to support this view.
The Telegraph understands that it describes how '... since 1912 the Tibetan government… continuously exercised de facto independence in both internal and external affairs'.
The paper goes on to say that the Chinese Republic declared that Tibet was part of China. It added that the British took a 'middle line' and informed the Chinese that they upheld the autonomy of Tibet 'while admitting the suzerainty of China'.
The writer then goes on to describe how a compromise was later reached in which Tibet was divided into Inner and Outer Tibet –with some degree of Chinese control 'contemplated for Inner Tibet', while Outer Tibet was to be autonomous.
The document was auctioned off as part of a larger lot described as 'a large box of papers, letters, manuscripts and other ephemera relating to Tibet'.
A proof copy of Sir Basil's 1957 book, The Jewel in the Lotus: Recollections of an Indian Political, which detailed his time in Tibet, was also included in the lot.
After a bidding war that lasted more than five minutes, the item was eventually won by an anonymous online bidder – for a final total of £14,080 once auction charges were added.
Sonam Tsering Frasi, a former representative of the Dalai Lama to the UK and northern Europe, was among those who unsuccessfully attempted to secure the lot.
Speaking to The Telegraph following the auction, Mr Frasi, 70, said: 'All of these archive materials are important to us as Tibetans because they belong to the Tibetan people and it relates to what happened before the Chinese people [came].
'So this paper has an independent British government's thinking [and] attitude [about] what was happening on the ground in Lhasa.'
He added: 'Tibet was an independent country. But that doesn't fit with the Chinese narrative.'
Mr Frasi said: 'There was definitely a concern about trying to keep these out of Chinese hands because we don't know who is online bidding.
'My suspicion is that there were Chinese bidders and there might be lots of records in there that will show the thinking of British-India with regards to Tibet autonomy.'
He added: 'These papers – the danger is that they would not surface at all or they would be spun around to say something else.'
Bonhams does not reveal whom successful bidders are. A spokesman would not approach the winner on The Telegraph's behalf, saying this would have gone against its privacy rules.