Franz H. Michael and Eugene I. Knez photographs and sound recordings relating to Tibetan Buddhism in northeastern India
odd: label: Local Call Number(s)
content: NAA Photo Lot 80-13
name: label: Photographer
content: Michael, Franz H.
label: Photographer
content: Knez, Eugene I. (Eugene Irving), 1916-2010
place: label: Place
content: Ladākh (India)
label: Place
content: Rumtek (India)
label: Place
content: Gangtok (India)
topic: label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: Dance
label: Topic
content: Monasteries
creator: label: Photographer
content: Michael, Franz H.
culture: label: Culture
content: Tibetans
label: Culture
content: Buddhists
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Franz H. Michael (1907-92) was a specialist in nineteenth-century China and in Sino-Soviet relations. He taught at the National Chekian University in China, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Washington, and the George Washington University (GW). Born in Freiburg, Germany, he served as an attache in the German diplomatic service until 1933, at which point he began working at the National Chekiang University in Hangchow, China. In 1938, he came to the United States, where he taught Chinese affairs and European history at Johns Hopkins University (1939-1942). From 1942-1964, he taught and served as assistant and acting director of the Far Eastern and Russian Institute at the University of Washington, and then taught and served as associate director and director of GW's Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies (1964-1972). Michael retired from GW in 1977.

Eugene I. Knez (1916-2012) was an ethnologist with a special interest in the culture of Korea. In 1945, he made his first trip to Korea as part of the United States Army; there, he served as the military chief of the Bureau of Culture in the Department of Education and assisted in the reestablishment of the National Museum of Korea and the founding of the National Museum of Anthropology (now the Museum of Korean Folklore). After serving in the United States on the staffs of the Peabody Museum at Yale University and the Washington State Museum, Knez returned to the Far East in 1949-1952 as a cultural affairs officer attached to the American embassy. He was later director of the United States Information Service office in Pusan and American regional public affairs officer for southern Japan. In 1959, Knez joined the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology as its specialist in Far Eastern ethnology. In the 1960s he undertook an East China Seas program, which involved the study and comparison of the material culture in villages in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Ryukyus. He retired in 1978.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2 Sound tape reels (Sound recordings :, 7 inches)
label: Extent
content: 35 Negatives (acetate)
label: Extent
content: 441 Color slides
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1979
custodhist: label: Custodial History note
content: The slides were probably donated with or shortly before the audio tapes were made, circa 1980. The tapes were then transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives, circa 1986. They were transferred back to NAA in 2015.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.PhotoLot.80-13
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound tape reels
label: Type
content: Negatives
label: Type
content: Color slides
label: Type
content: Photographs
processinfo: label: Processing Information note
content: The slides were previously cataloged under Photo Lot 91-1 and Photo Lot 91-29. They were determined to be part of accession 80-13 and numbered accordingly in 2015.
label: Processing Information note
content: This collection was previously filed as MS 80-13. It was changed to a photo lot when the photographs were added in May 2015.
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: Photographs published in Franz H. Michael, Rule by Incarnation: Tibetan Buddhism and Its Role in Society and State, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1982.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
otherfindaid: label: Other Finding Aids note
content: An inventory of the slides, prepared by Franz Michael, is available in repository.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: Photographs made during celebrations of the 800-year anniversary of the founding of the Drikung monastery, from June through August 1979. They document Buddhist structures, religious dignitaries and Tibetans, dances, and various religious events. Franz H. Michael and Eugene I. Knez made the photographs in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir; Rumtek and Gangtok, Sikkim; Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh; and one photograph each in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand and Rajpur (probably in Uttarakhand). The audio recordings, which may have been made by NAA, are recordings of Franz Michael commenting on the photographic slides in this collection and an associated film depicting the ceremony at the Ga-ngon Monastery in Ladakh, India.
relatedmaterial: label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: Related film footage of the 800th anniversary celebrations, shot by Franz H. Michael, is held in the Human Studies Film Archives in HSFA 86.11.6.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: The National Anthropological Archives holds the Eugene Irving Knez Papers.
label: Location of Other Archival Materials
content: The University of Washington Special Collections and George Washington University Special Collections hold Franz H. Michael's Papers.