Painted scrolls of the Kathmandu Valley
Newar artists paint the Paubha, a scroll of deities and mandalas. It becomes one of the roots of the Himalayan thangka.
Thangkas and handicraft from Nepal
Painted, hammered and strung by hand by artisans in Nepal. Packed by us in Portugal and sent to you, wherever you live.
Three favourites from the collection
The painter's bench
Mandala in progress, Kathmandu
Mineral pigment on cotton
5 craftsfrom painters, smiths and weavers
Every piece uniquemade by hand, never mass-produced
36 hoursfrom order to dispatch
14 daysto return it for a full refund
Shop by craft
Five crafts, many pairs of hands
Painting, metalwork, beadwork, weaving and papermaking are each a separate skill in Nepal, often handed down within one family. Here is what each of them makes.
Our main craft · 91 works
Thangkas & mandalas
Painted by hand on cotton with mineral pigments and real gold. A detailed piece can take months.
Singing bowls & sound
Hammered from bronze alloy and tuned by ear.
Malas & jewellery
Prayer beads for counting mantras, plus bracelets and necklaces.
Photos with the next shipment
Statues & ritual items
Metal figures cast by the lost-wax method and finished by hand, with prayer wheels and incense.
Arriving soon · Get notified
Photos with the next shipment
Textiles & paper
Pashmina, felted wool, and lokta paper made from the bark of a Himalayan shrub.
Arriving soon · Get notified
Find your thangka
What would you like it to hold for you?
Each figure in a thangka carries a meaning. Most people choose a painting for a reason: a new home, a hard year, a daily practice. Start there.
See it at real size
Will it fit your wall?
Photos online hide scale. Choose a painting and a place in your home. Everything here is drawn to the real measurements in centimetres.
1 · Painting
2 · Where it will hang
The collection
On the wall this season
Hover over a painting to see a close-up of the brushwork. Tap it for sizes, materials and more photos.
Type
Fits
Look closer
The proof is in the line.
A print is flat. A painted thangka has raised gold, layered colour and the small changes of a human hand. Move over the painting to look through a magnifier.
Kalachakra Mandala, gold on black · 50 × 50 cm · $310
At home
Paintings belong in lived-in rooms.
A thangka is meant to be seen every day, in a meditation room, above a bed or in a hallway you walk through each morning.
Festivals and gifting
A year of festivals
Nepal follows a lunar calendar, so festival dates move a little each year. These are the seasons when families light lamps, visit temples and give gifts. Select one to see what happens.
Where it comes from
Crafts kept alive in Nepal
Painting, metal casting and weaving have passed from teacher to apprentice for centuries. Nepal's artisans are a large part of why these crafts continue today.
Araniko travels north
The artist Araniko, a painter and metal caster, leaves Patan with a team of Nepali craftsmen for Tibet, then the court of Kublai Khan, where he designs the White Stupa in Beijing.
A valley of world heritage
UNESCO lists seven monument zones of the Kathmandu Valley as a World Heritage Site, from the royal squares to the great stupas of Swayambhu and Boudhanath.
From the workshop to your home
Painters still grind their own colours, smiths still hammer bowls by hand, and weavers still work on wooden looms. We buy their work and send it on from Portugal, so it can reach homes far beyond the Himalaya.
Sound, beads and daily practice
Crafts that are meant to be used
Singing bowls and prayer malas, made by hand in Nepal, for meditation, yoga or a quiet minute at the end of the day.
Singing bowl · 6.5 in (16.5 cm)
Yantra Design Singing Bowl 6.5"
Hand-hammered and engraved with a yantra on the inside. Comes with a mallet and a cushion. The sound preview is synthesised: every hand-made bowl has its own voice.
$293
Prayer mala · 108 beads
Selenite and lava stone malas
108 beads, strung by hand, for counting mantras or breaths. Pearly selenite or matte black lava stone.
$65
Your photo here: you with the painters, or packing a painting in the Portugal studio
A note from us
“We started Tibet Thangka to bring Nepal's handicraft to people who would never walk into a workshop in Kathmandu. We choose every piece from artisans who keep the old techniques, and we pack every order ourselves.”
The Tibet Thangka team, Portugal
Handmade in NepalEvery piece is made by hand, so no two are exactly alike.
Sent within 36 hoursWith a tracking number by email, to almost any country.
14-day returnsYou can send it back within 14 days. You pay return shipping unless it arrived damaged.
Wholesale welcomeStudios, yoga schools and shops can ask about trade prices.
Letters
New arrivals from Nepal, once a month.
Be first to see new paintings, statues and textiles before they reach the shop, with the story behind each piece.