The Museum houses many appliqués with Buddhist representations, which date to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As regards composition, colour and contents these textiles are comparable to the, normally painted, Buddhist thangkas. Many of the Mongolian thankas are in fact patchworks, which are made with templates for cutting out pieces of silk. These pieces are sewn together and applied to a silk background. Such a ‘quilt’ is often provided with strings at the top for hanging, and a dowel at the bottom for adding extra weight.

See also the TRC Needles entry on an embroidered thangka from Inner Mongolia.