Item number: M150

Year: AD 1905

Material: Silver

Size: 17.7 x 58.9 x 2.1 mm

Weight: 4.80 g

Provenance: J. Collins Medals 2024

This is a miniature version of the Silver “Tibet Medal,” which was issued on February 1, AD 1905, to reward those who participated in the Tibet Expedition of AD 1903 to 1904. The Tibet Medal comes in two versions, silver for combatants and bronze for logistics personnel. Participants in the Gyantse Battle also received an additional clasp engraved with the word “Gyantse.” Due to the lack of the clasp, we can deduce that the recipient of this miniature medal did not participate in this battle.

The obverse of the medal features a side profile sculpted by G.W. de Saulles, depicting King Edward VII in his Field Marshal’s uniform, with the Latin inscription “Edward VII Emperor of India” around the edge. On the reverse side, sculpted by Ernest Gillick, is a representation of a prominent Tibetan building, specifically the Potala Palace where the Dalai Lama resides, along with the name “TIBET”, and the expedition years “1903-04” engraved below. The main difference between this miniature version and the official version lies in the suspension style, with the official version featuring a swivel scroll suspension with claw with rivet inserted, and the miniature version featuring a swivel straight bar suspension with simplified claw. The ribbon design remains consistent with the official version, characterised by a central maroon stripe flanked symmetricly by white and green stripes on either side.

In the year AD 1903, concerns about Russian expansion towards Tibet posing a threat to the security of British India led the then Governor-General of India, Lord Curzon, to commission his close friend Colonel Francis Younghusband to lead a diplomatic mission towards Lhasa. By the end of December, in the midst of harsh winter, Colonel Younghusband commanded a force primarily composed of Gurkha and Sikh soldiers, totalling over a thousand men, to advance towards Lhasa for diplomatic purposes.

On March 31st, AD 1904, the British Indian Army encountered around two thousand Tibetan soldiers stationed at Chumi Gong, who were hindering their progress. A misunderstanding during negotiations led to the British Indian Army, equipped with Maxim machine guns, attacking the less equipped Tibetan forces, resulting in the loss of 628 Tibetan lives. By April 11th, the British Indian Army reached the strategic pass at Gyantse en route to Lhasa, facing fierce resistance from Tibetan forces. The conflict lasted for about a hundred days before ending in victory for the British Indian Army.

As Colonel Younghusband prepared to enter the “Forbidden City” of Lhasa, the spiritual and political leader of Tibet, the 13th Dalai Lama, fled to the Mongolian capital of Urga (now Ulaanbaatar). Ultimately, in the absence of Tibetan leadership, Tibet was compelled to sign the Lhasa Convention with Britain, placing itself under British influence.

Afterward, the political situation in Tibet became increasingly complex due to changes in surrounding geopolitics and the internal order of the Qing Empire. Following the overthrow of the Qing Empire during the Xinhai Revolution, the 13th Dalai Lama returned to Tibet and immediately expelled Qing representatives and Han Chinese residents, signalling its departure from Chinese control. Tibet then maintained a de facto independent status until the military invasion by the People’s Liberation Army in the year AD 1950.

物件編號: M150

年代: 公元 1905 年

材質: 白銀

尺寸: 17.7 x 58.9 x 2.1 mm

重量: 4.80 g

來源: 克林獎章 2024

這是一枚公元1905年2月1日頒布，茲在獎勵那些參加公元1903至1904年西藏遠征行動的銀質「西藏獎章」迷你版。西藏獎章有銀質和銅質兩種版本，銀質頒予戰鬥人員，銅質則是後勤人員。江孜戰役參與者則額外獲得一條刻有「江孜」字樣的銘條，此迷你版獎章的得主並未參與此役。

獎章正面是喬治·威廉·德·索雷斯雕刻的英王愛德華七世著陸軍元帥服側身像，周圍則刻上「愛德華七世 印度皇帝」拉丁字銘文。獎章背面是歐內斯特·吉利克雕刻的西藏代表建築，即達賴喇嘛居住的拉薩布達拉宮，下方刻有西藏之地名和遠征年份「1903-04」字樣。該迷你版和官方版的最大差異在於懸掛樣式，官方版為插有鉚釘的帶爪螺旋式懸掛，迷你版則是帶有簡易爪子的旋轉直桿懸掛。綬帶的形制和官方版無異，皆是以酒紅色為中心，兩側依序向外對稱的白色和綠色。

公元1903年，擔憂俄國向西藏方向的擴張將威脅英屬印度的安危，時任印度總督的寇松委託摯友榮赫鵬上校於12月底隆冬之際，指揮一批以廓爾喀人和錫克人為主，多達一千多人的隊伍向拉薩前進展開外交任務。公元1904年3月31日，英印軍跟駐紮在曲美辛古阻擋其前進的兩千名藏軍在交涉過程中發生誤會，致使英印軍以馬克沁機關槍攻擊裝備落後的藏軍，導致後者628人喪命。4月11日，英印軍推抵通往拉薩的要隘江孜時，面臨藏軍激烈的反抗，戰鬥持續約一百天以英印軍勝利告終。當榮赫鵬準備進入「禁城」拉薩的前一天，身為西藏精神和政治領袖的達賴十三世逃往蒙古首府烏爾格(今 烏蘭巴托 )。最終在領袖缺席的情勢下，西藏被迫和英國簽訂《拉薩條約》將自身置於英國影響之下。

此後西藏的政治局勢，隨著周遭地緣政治和清帝國內部秩序變化變得更為複雜。當清帝國於辛亥革命被推翻後，回到西藏的達賴十三世立即驅逐清廷駐藏代表和漢人居民，標示其脫離中國的掌控。西藏便維持實質獨立狀態直到公元1950年中共軍事入侵為止。