The thangka is a sacred Tibetan Buddhist artform, with the oldest known thangkas dating back to the eleventh century. The process of making a thangka painting is highly complex and geometric. Artists rigidly adhere to fixed iconographic features of the deities they depict and often reference early scriptures or recite mantras in the process. Using fine brushes and traditional mineral pigments to fill in the careful outlines, they then typically mount the thangka on precious textiles like silk. After artistic completion, the final step involves consecration: lamas perform special blessing ceremonies in which the eyes of the deities are "opened," and the thangka comes to life. This special exhibition features twelve thangkas representative of the Miantang (Menri) tradition, a syncretic tradition that has flourished since the 15th century when it was founded by Menla Dondrup Gyatso. Drawing upon Chinese, Nepalese and Indian painting techniques prevalent at the time and combining them with local Tibetan characteristics, this style of thangka is a celebrated example of artistic mastery.