Original Tibetan Mandala Thanka Painting | This is a genuine Tibetan Mandala Thanka Painting is a one-of-a-kind original painted in gold leaf by Thangka painters in Kathmandu Nepal on silk | Measures 13.5" H x 11" W. A thangka, variously spelt as thangka, tangka, thanka, or tanka (Nepali pronunciation: [_______]; Tibetan: _____; Nepal Bhasa: ____), is a Tibetan painting on cotton, silk appliquŽ, usually depicting a deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front. So treated, thangkas can last a long time, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture will not affect the quality of the silk. Most thangkas are relatively small, comparable in size to a Western half-length portrait, but some are extremely large, several metres in each dimension; these were designed to be displayed, typically for very brief periods on a monastery wall, as part of religious festivals. They often have elaborate compositions including many very small figures.