Slide of a thangka being painted, Shangu Monastery

The central figure shown in the photograph is the master painter, the others are his pupils. Several of the paintings shown in this photograph are produced at one time, with pupils painting part of it. They were all given food and lodging for three months while they painted the thangka (painting on silk or cotton) for the monastery which had commissioned it. Local lay people paid the fee.

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk