Buddhist Art in Sikkim

The thangka may be considered the culmination of Buddhist art. Based on strict iconographic rules according to religious scriptures, it is both an object of worship as well as an aid for meditation.

A thangka usually depicts a deity, a religious concept, or a spiritually significant event.

The art of the thangkas is also seen adapted to different applications across different media.

On a grand scale, it is seen in Buddhist monasteries in the form of wall murals.

The imagery in Buddhist murals is the same as that of thangka art, but on a larger scale. Compared to the limited canvas of a thangka, a wall offers the artist the space to develop a theme.

Large murals, especially those seen in monasteries, often have a narrative flow.

A secular application of the same art can be seen in the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology in Gangtok, Sikkim.

An important centre of Tibetan studies, the institute is designed in traditional Tibetan style.

The imagery of the murals is similar to that seen in religious application.

The Institute also offers examples of the extension of the art form into architectural detailing. Seen here is an ornamented pillar.

Wood and plaster detailing between walls and ceilings is of the same design vocabulary as that seen in thangkas.

Wood carving is a craft form in its own right, used for ritual objects, furniture and architecture.

Carved objects often have religious symbolic significance.

Their painting follows the same colour codes as seen in two-dimensional applications of Buddhist art.

Another three-dimensional art form is that of mask making. Masks are used for religious festivals, and are an essential component for many ritual dances.

In Sikkim, every Buddhist household has its own shrine. A place of worship and meditation, this is where the family idols and thangkas are kept.

Seen here is a new shrine not yet completed. The faces of the deities are kept covered till the high priest or lama consecrates them.

Artist Sangye in his workplace. Trained as a thangka painter, the artist has adapted his skills to be able to execute all the painting requirements of a project such as this one.

All the wall painting has been done by him.

He has also painted the wooden shrine and decorations.

While the idols are made on order according to drawings given, their painting is done by artists such as Sangye. Seen here is an idol of Lord Buddha.

The artist at work on a traditional wooden table that will be used in the prayer room.

He is using the raised technique, which he will further colour with gold paint.

Besides its use across various media, Buddhist art and the craft forms it supports, are beginning to enter new areas of application.

In Gangtok, shops selling commercial thangkas now offer thangkas to Hindu deities.

Seen here is a secular application of thangka art: a map of Sikkim made by Hishey Bhutia, a thangka painter.

Made in two sections, this work combines text and visual imagery in a map of Sikkim and the various craft forms of the state.

Read more about the tradition of Thangka Paintings here :

- Buddhist Crafts and Culture: Snapshots from Gangtok
- Sikkimese Thangkas: Religious Art