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Himalayan Sacred ArtAncient Art.
Ancient Art.
Timeless Heritage.
Thangka painted by hand on cotton and silk — malachite, lapis lazuli and cinnabar ground at the studio, gilded in 24-karat gold, and recorded in a signed dossier of provenance.
- Tradition
- 600 years
- Pigment
- Hand-ground mineral
- Gilding
- 24K gold leaf
- Sourcing
- Studio direct
50% to begin · balance before dispatch
Featured CollectionsFive ways into
Five ways into
the tradition
Start from the figure, the technique, the gilding, the interior — or from nothing at all, and let a painter make the decision with you.
Every work carries the same dossier regardless of collection. The categories describe the subject and the finish — never the standard of painting.
Browse every workSelected Works
All worksCurrent highlights
Four works released from the studio this season. Each is one of one, painted to order, and shipped with its full dossier.
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CollectorBuddha Thangka
Yellow Jambhala
Abundance
- 40 × 55 cm (15.7 × 21.7 in)
- 24K gold leaf · Orpiment yellow · Cotton ground
- Painted to order · 56 days
$7,800
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EntryBuddha Thangka
Shakyamuni Buddha
The Awakened One
- 26 × 34 cm (10.2 × 13.4 in)
- Hand-ground mineral pigment · Cotton ground · 24K gold highlights
- Painted to order · 21 days
$4,200
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EntryBuddha Thangka
Green Tara
Swift Compassion
- 30 × 40 cm (11.8 × 15.7 in)
- Malachite green · Lapis lazuli · Cotton ground
- Painted to order · 28 days
$4,800
Every work here is painted after it is bought.
A wait of two to three months before work begins is normal, and it is set by the number of painters rather than by demand. If the date matters, say so and the studio will tell you honestly whether it can be met.
Catalogue entries currently carry generated artwork and working copy. Photography, dimensions and pricing are finalised per work as it leaves the studio.
The CraftSix months,
Six months,
one painting
A large thangka is not produced. It accumulates — layer by layer, over a season, by painters who learned the canon as apprentices and will teach it in turn.
- I
Preparing the ground
Cotton or silk is stretched on a wooden frame, sized with hide glue and burnished with a smooth stone until the surface rings. A ground that is not perfectly flat will show every flaw beneath the pigment.
- II
Laying out the iconometry
The figure is set out from the grid of proportions prescribed in the iconometric canon. Nothing here is improvised: the position of a hand, the length of an ear and the angle of a gaze are measurements, not choices.
- III
Grinding the mineral
Malachite, lapis lazuli, cinnabar and orpiment are ground by hand with water and bound in glue. Particle size governs colour: the same stone yields a pale wash or a deep opaque field depending on how long it is worked.
- IV
Painting the fields
Colour is built in translucent layers over many weeks. Greens and blues take the longest — lapis is the slowest pigment in the studio and the reason a large work can occupy a full painting season.
- V
Gilding and burnishing
24-karat leaf is laid on a prepared ground and burnished with agate until the gold carries light rather than reflecting it. Gold is applied last and never retouched — a mistake cannot be undone.
- VI
Faces, then consecration
The eyes are opened last, as is traditional. The finished work is consecrated by a qualified lama, and the dossier recording pigments, gold weight, lineage and painter is sealed.
Six stages · roughly one season
The craft in fullProvenanceA work of art is
A work of art is
half painting,
half record
“In this tradition the painting and the account of it are made together. A thangka that cannot be traced to the hand that painted it has lost half of what it is.”
Every dossier is signed and sealed by the studio before the work leaves the building.
In every dossier
01
Deity and iconographic form, with the canonical source cited
02
Painter of record and studio of origin
03
Ground, pigments and binder, itemised by hand
04
Measured gold weight, to the tenth of a gram
05
Date of completion and date of consecration
06
Consecrating lineage and the lama who performed it
07
Photographic record of the painting stages
08
Dimensions, in both metric and imperial
For Masterworks, the dossier is extended with exhibition history, publication references and any prior ownership where it can be documented.
Collector RoomsWhere they
Where they
end up
Three rooms, three problems. A work of this scale is a decision about a wall before it is a decision about a painting, and most of the mistakes are made after the crate is open.
Room scenes are generative placeholders. Collector photography is licensed case by case, and none of it is shown here yet.
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The altar wall
One work, at eye height, with nothing else on the wall and no downlight directly above the gilding — a spot from overhead flattens the burnish and the gold reads as yellow paint.
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The stairwell
The one place a large work can be hung against a rising line. Height is set from the bottom tread rather than the floor, or the painting tips out of the sight line as you climb.
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The study
Small works behind anti-reflective glass, lit from a lamp at the side rather than from the ceiling, so the gold catches at an angle and the dark fields stay dark.
See it on your wall before you decide.
Send a photograph of the wall — a phone picture is enough, and a door frame or a piece of furniture in shot is useful. The studio will place the work to scale, work out the hanging height and the light it needs, and send it back within two working days. There is no charge and nothing to commit to.
Questions
Before you ask
The eight questions we are asked most often, answered without hedging.
01How long does a work take to paint?
Foundation works are typically dispatched in three to five weeks. Masterworks are painted over six to eighteen months depending on size and the number of figures. Your specific lead time is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken, and progress photographs are sent at each stage.
02Who pays customs and import duty?
Duty and local tax are set by your own jurisdiction and cannot be prepaid by us. We declare the work accurately as original hand-painted art under the relevant HS code — which attracts a reduced or zero rate in most markets — and prepare the documentation on your behalf. Where duty is payable, the courier will collect it on delivery.
03How do I know the painting is what it claims to be?
The dossier records the painter, the studio, the pigments by name and the measured gold weight. Pigments are identifiable under normal light and under UV, and the gold weight can be verified independently. If a work is ever found not to match its dossier we refund the full purchase price, without a time limit.
04Can I return a piece if it is not right in the room?
Yes. You have fourteen days from delivery to return any stocked or completed Foundation work for a full refund of the purchase price, provided it is shipped back in its original packing. Commissions specified to your size and palette are excluded once painting has begun, which is why we confirm the brief in writing first.
05Are the works consecrated?
Yes, where the buyer wishes it. Consecration is performed by a qualified lama and recorded in the dossier with the lineage of the officiant. If you would prefer the work unconsecrated — for museum display or for sale on to a collector who holds a different practice — tell us and it will be shipped as a painting only.
06Can I ask for consecration before it is shipped?
Yes, and that is the usual arrangement. Tell us when you confirm the order, not after dispatch, and the work goes to the officiant before it is packed. We arrange a qualified lama or practitioner according to the type of thangka, and the dossier records who performed the ceremony and in which lineage. Nothing is assumed on your behalf.
07Can you paint a specific deity, size or palette?
That is what the Custom Order collection is for. Send us the figure, the intended wall, and any colour direction; we will confirm the painter, the final dimensions and the price band before work begins. Revisions to the drawing are shown to you before any pigment is applied.
08Do you work with designers, galleries and institutions?
Regularly. We can supply pieces on approval, hold works for a viewing, produce condition reports for shipping, and handle multi-work shipping documentation for a single project. Write to us with the project brief and we will respond with availability and lead times.
EnquireTell us what
Tell us what
you are looking for
Every acquisition here begins with a conversation, because the work is painted after it. Write to the studio and you will hear back from a person, not an automated receipt.
- hello@example.com
- Telephone
- +1 (000) 000-0000
- Studio
- Address line 1, Address line 2, Country
What happens next
i
You write, with as little or as much detail as you have
A figure name, an occasion, a wall measurement or simply a budget band — any one of those is enough to start.
ii
We reply with two or three specific works
Not a catalogue. The pieces that actually match, with dimensions, lead time and price confirmed, and the drawings sent for your approval before pigment is applied.
iii
Payment, painting, and photographs as it goes
Fifty percent to begin, the balance before dispatch. You receive progress photographs at each stage and the sealed dossier with the finished work.
Replies within one business day, in English or Chinese. Video viewings arranged on request.