Exploring the Art of Thangka

• The Culture and Heritage of Tibetan Treasures

Thangka (Thang-ga), also known as Thang-ga, Thangka, is the phonetic translation of the Tibetan language, refers to the use of colored satin framed and hung for worship of religious scroll paintings. Thangka is a unique painting art form in Tibetan culture, the subject matter involves Tibetan history, politics, culture and social life and many other areas, most of the heirloom thangkas are Tibetan Buddhism and Benjaminism works.

Thangka is a unique painting art form in Tibetan culture. With distinctive national characteristics, rich religious colors and unique artistic style, it depicts the sacred world of Buddha with bright colors; the pigments are traditionally all gold, silver, pearl, agate, coral, turquoise, malachite, vermilion, and other precious minerals such as precious stones and saffron, rhubarb, indigo, and other plants for the pigment to show its sacredness. These natural raw materials to ensure that the painting of the thangka colorful, bright and dazzling, although after hundreds of years, is still colorful and bright. Therefore, it is regarded as the treasures of Chinese national painting art, known as the “encyclopedia” of the Tibetan people, and also a precious intangible cultural heritage of the Chinese folk art.

The traditional thangka painting requirements are strict, the procedure is extremely complex, must be in accordance with the scripture rituals and master's requirements, including painting before the ceremony, making canvas, composition draft, coloring and dyeing, outlining and shaping, laying gold and silver, open eyes, sewing and framing and a whole set of craft procedures. The production of a thangka takes a long time, as short as half a year to complete, or more than ten years.