Tankas

For hundreds of years, Thailand's fascinating culture has found one of its most expressive forms in the distinctive textiles of its people. The skills of Thai weavers, who even in this modern day create intricate tankas and tapestries using hand looms from a more innocent era, brilliantly reflect their honest love for their ancestry and for their traditional ways. Depicting all aspects of royal, common and spiritual life, the exquisite wall hangings, meticulously stitched and beaded, are just one more testament to that most endearing Thai quality, the reverent appreciation of beauty.

A tanka (pronounced, "than-ka") is a large piece of cloth, painted or embroidered with a spiritual or inspiring scene, meant to be hung conspicuously or carried on a journey. In the monasteries of western Tibet, tankas are generally painted on a coarse cotton fabric sized with a mixture of glue, chalk and water. Monks grind vegetables or minerals to produce pigments of brilliant depth and color. The tankas are then fitted with wooden dowels to create a scroll painting which can be easily hung or transported.

Traditionally in Thailand, woven wall hangings were produced to a maximum of 18", or possibly twice that width with a seam down the middle, as the local looms were no larger than this. These are tapestries, stitched with great attention to detail, as befits their majestic subject matter. Often, the central scene or figure is surrounded by additional scenes from the local mythology, and these elements together represent the entire universe; the embroidered subject rises from it's source and is symbolically surrounded by the teachers and favored deities above, the faithful protectors below, and the Buddhist teachings on either side.

While the scenes depicted in Oriental scrolls, tapestries and tankas can be quickly apprehended in their essence, a deeper understanding can also be had through a familiarity with the doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism. The artists who dedicate their lives to the creation of these masterpieces are devoted storytellers. Many hours of delicate labor is invested in each wall hanging, and from each much can be learned. Whether depicting a story, a lesson, or an auspicious event and whether serving as an inspiration or as a reminder, each wall hanging has it's own important message.