Palden Lhamo Thangka – Framed Tibetan Wall Art with Hand-Set Crystals
Ink & Gold / Standard
$570.00
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Palden Lhamo Thangka – Framed Tibetan Wall Art with Hand-Set Crystals
$570.00
Free shipping · Duties paid · 30-day returns
Printed on heavy card · Crystals set by hand · Framed, ready to hang
Palden Lhamo (Sanskrit: Shri Devi) is the principal female protector of Tibetan Buddhism and a guardian of Lhasa. She is shown in her classic form: dark blue, three-eyed, crowned with skulls, her hair flying, riding side-saddle on a mule that gallops across a red sea. She raises a club in her right hand, and a pouch of dice hangs from her saddle.
Every thangka is also an offering
Each one is finished at a temple, by elderly lay Buddhists who practise there. Part of every order goes back to that temple. So what you bring home is not only a thangka: you have also made an offering.
Each thangka is finished by hand after you order. It ships framed in 3–5 business days, then takes about 10–14 business days to arrive by air. With Temple consecration it ships in 5–7 business days and is final sale unless it arrives damaged; the Standard version returns like any other piece.
Finished to order: ships in 3–5 business days (with Temple consecration, 5–7) · Tracked air delivery in about 10–14 business days.
Size & details
- Frame
- 55 × 71 × 12 cm (21.7 × 28 × 4.7 in), 4 kg
- Image
- 40.2 × 56.2 cm (15.8 × 22.1 in)
- Heavy card, from our own drawing, to traditional proportions
- Hand work
- Glass crystals and gold glitter outlines, set by elderly lay Buddhists at a temple
- Framing
- Silk brocade frame-within-a-frame, wood frame, acrylic front
- Brocade
- Ink & Gold · Night Sky · Crimson Cloud · Warm Sun
- Hanging
- Ready to hang
- Dispatch
- Finished to order, ships in 3–5 business days
- Delivery
- 10–14 business days by air, tracked, free, duties paid
Design
1. The ride. She sits sideways on her mule as it charges across the sea, the whole figure tilted forward in motion. The mule is drawn pale gold, its harness hung with bells and snakes; a white skull rests on its rump.
2. The face. The face is opened last, as thangka painters say. Hers is wrathful: three eyes, bared teeth, a crown of five skulls, a halo of grey smoke-like hair. Like all protectors in Tibetan art, her fierceness is understood as a form of care.
3. Club and dice. In her raised right hand is a club topped with a vajra. The pouch of dice at the saddle refers to divination, which tradition associates with her; dice are still used in Tibet in her name.
4. The red sea. Below the mule, waves of red fill the lower part of the painting, the sea her texts describe. At its edge stand offerings in white skull bowls. Above, green and blue clouds break up a black sky full of flames.
5. Hand finishing. The piece shown is framed in Ink & Gold brocade. The image is printed on heavy card from our own drawing; elderly lay Buddhists at a temple set every crystal by hand and trace the outlines in gold glitter, about two days for each piece.
The Meaning
Palden Lhamo is the protector goddess of the Dalai Lamas and of the city of Lhasa, and one of the most widely honoured protectors across the Tibetan schools. Tradition tells that she rides across the world and the seas without rest, watching over the teaching. For practitioners she is a guardian of practice and of commitments. In the home she is a vivid, fearless image: a woman riding hard through fire and water, and never looking back.
Read more: Palden Lhamo: meaning and iconography · What is a thangka? · How to hang and care for a thangka
May you ride through what frightens you.
Materials & making
Printed on heavy card from our own drawing, made to the traditional proportions of thangka painting. This is not a hand-painted or mineral-pigment thangka, and we will never call it one.
The hand work comes after printing. Elderly lay Buddhists at a temple set the glass crystals one at a time and trace the outlines in gold glitter with a fine brush. Framed behind acrylic rather than glass.
Shipping & duties
Free tracked shipping to 47 countries with YunExpress, with all import duties and taxes paid by us. The total at checkout is the total you pay.
Each thangka is finished to order and ships in 3–5 business days, framed and packed flat; with Temple consecration it ships in 5–7 business days. Delivery by air then takes about 10–14 business days. We email your tracking number as soon as it leaves us.
Returns
30-day returns from delivery, with no restocking fee. Thangkas with Temple consecration are final sale unless they arrive damaged. If you change your mind, return shipping is yours to pay; if it arrives damaged or not as described, we cover it.
If the frame or the acrylic arrives damaged, email us photos within 7 days of delivery and we will replace it or refund you.
Temple consecration (optional, +US$100): choose "Temple consecration" above. Your thangka is placed in the temple's main hall overnight and consecrated by the monks with chanting the next morning; we send you photos and a short video of it in the hall (the ceremony itself may not be filmed). The full US$100 is offered to the temple. Consecrated thangkas ship in 5–7 business days and are final sale unless they arrive damaged. We make no claim that consecration protects or changes anything. More on consecration
How each thangka is made
Drawn to measure, finished by hand
01
Drawn to measure
The drawing follows the proportions thangka painters have handed down for centuries: the width of a face, the length of a hand, the curve of a halo.
02
Printed on heavy card
A mineral-painted thangka takes months and costs more than most homes can spend on one picture. So ours is printed, not painted, and we say so plainly.
03
Crystals, one at a time
Elderly lay Buddhists at a temple set the glass crystals by hand, along the folds of the robes, the edges of the flames and the jewels at the crown.
04
Traced in gold
The same hands trace the outlines in gold glitter with a fine brush. Then it is framed behind acrylic, ready to hang.
Free Tracked ShippingDuties and taxes paid, 47 countries
30-Day ReturnsFull refund, no restocking fee
Finished to OrderShips in 3–5 business days
Acrylic, Not GlassLighter, and will not shatter in transit
An OfferingPart of every order goes to the temple
Frequently asked questions
Is this thangka hand-painted?
No. The image is printed on heavy card from our own drawing, made to the traditional proportions of thangka painting. What is done by hand comes afterwards: elderly lay Buddhists at a temple set every glass crystal one at a time and trace the outlines in gold glitter with a fine brush. A mineral-painted thangka takes months of work and costs many times as much; this one is made so that more people can live with one.
What is set into the surface?
Glass crystals and small gold-tone domes, each placed by hand. The gold lines are gold glitter, not gold leaf. Under a lamp or low sun the surface catches light unevenly, which a flat print cannot do.
How big is it?
Every thangka comes in one size. The frame measures 55 × 71 cm (21.7 × 28 in) and the image inside it 40.2 × 56.2 cm (15.8 × 22.1 in), large enough to hold a wall in a living room, study or meditation corner without taking it over.
Does it arrive ready to hang?
Yes. It comes framed behind acrylic, with two hooks at the top, inside a border of silk brocade in the colour you choose: Night Sky, Ink & Gold, Crimson Cloud or Warm Sun. Acrylic is lighter than glass and will not shatter in transit. To keep the colors bright, hang it out of direct sunlight.
How long does delivery take?
Each thangka is finished to order and ships in 3–5 business days, packed flat and tracked with YunExpress; with Temple consecration it ships in 5–7 business days. Delivery by air then takes about 10–14 business days, and we email your tracking number as soon as it leaves us.
Will I have to pay import duties or taxes?
No. We pay import duties, taxes and customs fees for every country we ship to. The total at checkout is the total you pay. If a carrier ever asks you for duty, don't pay it; email us and we will settle it.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery, for a full refund with no restocking fee. If you change your mind, return shipping is yours to pay; if it arrives damaged or not as described, we cover it. Thangkas with Temple consecration are final sale unless they arrive damaged. Refund policy
