Five Dhyani Buddhas Thangka – 123×50 cm, Master Grade

White Vairocana sits at the centre with his hands at his heart in the teaching gesture, his orange robe patterned in gold-coloured line work, flanked by a yellow and a blue Buddha holding bowls on the left and a red and a green Buddha on the right.

The five Buddhas sit in a row on lotuses above draped thrones, each framed by a green or orange halo and an aureole of fine rays with a jewelled gold-coloured rim, with a parasol and white scarves above, and horses, white elephants, snow lions, white birds and small winged figures painted on the thrones.

Clouds drift across a sky that fades from blue to pale yellow over green hills and rivers, with peonies behind the central Buddha and offerings of jewels, tusks, a conch and coral along the foot, inside an orange border.