Color from the snowy plateau
--encyclopaedia-style Thangka art

Thangka,a unpque artistic from of Tibetan culture, which is said to have originated in the Tubo period. thangka are analogous to scroll paintings in the Central Plain. They can be classified into "Gos-thang" and "Bris-thang." "Gos-thangs" are Thangkas made by means of embroidery, printing, weaving and patchwork. "Bris-thangs" are Thangkas painted on cloth with pigments. Thangka can also be subdivided into "gser-thang"(gold), "dmar-thang"(red), "nag-thang"(black) and "tshon-thang"(colorful), according to the materials used to paint the background. the range of thangka themes is very wide.Most Thangkas are connected with buddhism, but many are arlated to history, legend, folk customs, literature and science. Different styles of Thangka emerged at different times and in different areas, such as the "sman-thang" style in the Lhasa area, the "sgar-bris" style in the Kham region and the "mkhyen-brtsevi" style in Gong-dkar of Lho-kha.