Shakyamuni Buddha Thangka – Framed Tibetan Wall Art with Hand-Set Crystals
Crimson Cloud / Standard
$570.00
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Shakyamuni Buddha 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
Shakyamuni is the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakya clan, who attained awakening under the Bodhi tree. He is shown in his classic form: golden in colour, seated in the vajra posture, his right hand reaching down to touch the earth and his left resting in his lap, holding an alms bowl. This thangka sets him on a deep red ground among red peonies.
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
- Crimson Cloud · Night Sky · Ink & Gold · 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. Touching the earth. His right hand rests over his right knee, fingertips toward the ground. This is the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsha mudra): the moment, in the traditional account, when he called the earth to witness his awakening. It is the most recognisable image of the Buddha in Tibetan art.
2. The face. The face is opened last, as thangka painters say. His eyes are lowered almost to closing, the long earlobes, the dark blue hair and the rounded crown of the head (ushnisha) follow the classical marks of a Buddha. Face, hands and the span of the knees are drawn to the traditional iconometric grid.
3. Bowl and robe. In his lap his left hand holds a blue alms bowl. He wears the patched robe of a monastic, worked in red and gold, with an orange undergarment showing at the waist. Nothing he carries is more than a monk would carry.
4. Halo and mandorla. A green halo circles his head, edged with a row of gold beads. Behind his body a dark mandorla of fine rays is ringed in gold and set with red, blue and clear glass crystals, each placed by hand. A single red crystal sits in a ring of gold beads beneath the lotus seat.
5. Red ground, hand finishing. The ground is red, filled with red peonies, and the piece shown is framed in Crimson Cloud brocade. Red in Tibet is associated with attraction and drawing good things near. 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
Shakyamuni represents awakening itself: the teacher who found the way and taught it for the rest of his life. The earth-touching gesture recalls the night of his awakening, when, in the traditional account, he remained unmoved until morning. For practitioners, his image is the central support of the shrine. In the home it is an image of steadiness: someone sitting completely still, with both hands occupied, and nothing more to prove.
Read more: The earth-touching Buddha · What is a thangka? · How to hang a thangka
May you sit as steadily as the earth beneath 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
