The Prime Time for Thangka Collection

In recent years, the collection of Tibetan Buddhist artworks has gradually gained recognition and attention from collectors, with thangkas—boasting high cultural and artistic value—seeing a steady surge in popularity. Particularly after thangkas were inscribed on China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2006, they emerged as a rising star in the collection market, with their prices doubling repeatedly.  

 While thangka prices have climbed steadily in recent years, they remain relatively low overall compared to other painting artworks. Additionally, thangka collection is still a niche field—factors that mean thangkas hold significant potential for collection.

A thangka is a handicraft painted on fabrics, leather, or paper using gold, silver, and natural mineral pigments. Its development spans over a thousand years. Due to its intricate painting techniques, high-quality materials, and vibrant colors, thangka has long been regarded as a unique treasure of Tibetan religious and cultural art.

The value of a thangka lies primarily in the complexity of its creation process. A skilled painter typically needs at least six months to a year to complete a single thangka. Moreover, thangkas use extremely high-grade materials, with pigments sourced from natural minerals. As a result, the number of authentic thangkas available on the market is limited—and this scarcity is a key reason for the persistent high prices of thangkas in recent years.

Despite its long history, thangka entered the collection market only relatively recently, and its rapid surge in popularity has occurred just in the past few years. Starting from the 1990s, when Tibetan Buddhist artworks began to enter the collection market, the thangka collection market began to heat up. It was not until 2006, when thangkas were added to China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, that their collection value was finally recognized and discovered by the public. Since then, the thangka collection market has seen a marked upward trend, with prices basically doubling every year.

In the current collection market, thangkas often sell for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan. Compared to a decade ago, their prices have risen by at least several dozen times—making thangkas a true "dark horse" in the collection market.