This large image of an accomplished yogin (mahasiddha) was once just a small component of a monumental thangka. Tibetan monasteries stored vast scrolled images that were unfurled down steep mountain sides or tall buildings for public viewing on ceremonial occasions.

Tibetans are expert needle-workers but do not themselves produce silk fabric. The silks used in this appliqué and embroidered picture are Chinese; Tibetan monasteries often had stocks of fine and antique Chinese silks to use as required.

The mahasiddha is portrayed seated on an antelope skin, its markings painted on the silk, with embroidered and appliquéd features. Piping is used to define the form, and fine embroi-dery delineates the ornaments, facial features and other details. He offers the gesture of exposition (vitarka mudra) with his right hand while holding a shell in his left. His right leg is folded beneath him and his left knee is raised, held in position with a meditation band. The skin is draped over two cushions, one depicted in a blue pile velvet, the other in a gold brocade with fruit and Chinese character roundels. A Buddhist text is tied into his chignon, which is held up by a jewelled band. A thick tress of black hair falls down his back, adorned with a long stream of gems. Another appliqué figure of a mahasiddha, possibly from the same thangka, is now in the Newark Museum of Art.