Tibetan & Himalayan

At a monastery entrance, four kings stand guard over the cardinal directions. Tibetan and Himalayan thangkas are devotional paintings in mineral pigment on cotton, mounted in silk brocade so they can be rolled and carried between monasteries and homes. They depict White Tara and Red Tara, Buddha Shakyamuni, Amitayus with the vase of the nectar of immortality, Mahakala, Kubera or Jambhala, god of wealth, Avalokiteshvara with a thousand arms and eyes, Guru Rinpoche in his eight manifestations, and those Four Guardian Kings. Each figure follows strict iconographic measure, and hand gestures such as vitarka, abhaya and dharmachakra mudra carry meaning. Embroidered horse trappings come from the same Himalayan world.

Gold line and mineral blues glow softly in low light. A thangka in a study or a quiet bedroom brings concentration to the wall.