The term "thangk" a indicates a painted fabric that can be rolled up. The paintings are done in tempera, the support is a cotton muslin and the preparation base is made with a mixture of gypsum and kaolin. The paintings are considered sacred objects not only because they present religious subjects and symbols pertinent to the complex Tantric Buddhist iconography, but also because they serve as a concrete support for meditation.
The thangkas, even when focused on the representation of a single religious subject, be it human or divine, intend to convey a complexity of philosophical-religious knowledge that is expressed through the definition of minor iconographic elements, immediately grasped by Buddhist devotees.
Among the works exhibited are Stories of Māndhātar, Candraprabha, Supriya of the 18th century, whose style refers to the karma sgar bris school. This beautiful thangka from Kham , eastern Tibet, stands out for the lightness and delicacy of the tones with which the landscape is treated and for the miniature elegance with which the small figures placed in the various buildings or distributed in the wide open spaces are painted.
Another rather rare 18th century Tibetan thangka is the one produced in the context of the Bon monastic school. It is a spiritual path parallel to Buddhism, dating back like that of the Rnyng but to an ancient group of lineages of Tantric practitioners.