The Tibetan Buddhist Thangka Painting from the C.V. Starr East Asian Library

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Material Culture

Society & Culture


Columbia’s resident Thangka is about three feet tall, and maybe two feet across. But the painting itself actually only makes up about 1/3 the area of the entire piece. Surrounding the painting is a beautiful cotton frame that flows with gold silk and red ribbons. The painting features a background with an atmospheric perspective of the horizon between a blue sky and body of water. The foreground depicts an abundance of objects, shapes, plants, and patterns surrounding the subject of the painting: Manjushri, The Bodhisattva of Wisdom.