Sacred Thangkas

Welcome to Sacred Thangkas.

We are a UK-based company selling quality thangkas worldwide. We are passionate about thangka, and pride ourselves on selling some of the most beautiful pieces you are likely to find online, hand-picked with the greatest care and attention to detail. Our website is a labour of love, and we hope that you will enjoy spending time here learning about thangka and about Buddhism.

What are thangka?
Thangkas are scroll paintings; literally ‘something which can be rolled up’. Originally they were used for teaching or ritual purposes by itinerant or travelling monks and pilgrims. Thangkas can be used as an aid to meditation by concentrating on and identifying with the central deity or saint. Increasingly, the aesthetic element has come to the fore, particularly in Nepalese thangka, and it is now possible to buy thangkas which are both authentic and of incredible artistic merit, often taking months and sometimes years of work by individuals or groups of artists. Traditionally, thangka painters do not sign their pieces, but we have tried where possible to let you know the artist’s name, both to give credit where credit is due and to allow you to request more work by artists whose work you value.

Thangkas are generally painted on canvas using a variety of paints. Traditionally stone colours were used to make the paint, but this is increasingly rare, despite what many unscrupulous thangka shop owners may claim!! Nowadays all kinds of paints are being experimented with, sometimes to great effect. However, if we tell you that a painting is done with stone colours, you can be sure that it is.