{"product_id":"tibetan-medical-thangka-embryology","title":"Tibetan Medical Thangka – Embryology \u0026 Human Development","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"product-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis thangka is a Tibetan medical painting that illustrates conception and the growth of a child in the womb. It belongs to the tradition of Sowa Rigpa, the traditional medicine of Tibet and the Himalayas, where paintings were used to teach medical knowledge row by row, with each scene labelled in Tibetan script.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSowa Rigpa means “the science of healing”. Its core text, the Four Tantras (Gyushi), opens its account of the body with embryology: how a new life begins and develops week by week. From the late 17th century, a well-known set of medical paintings was produced in Lhasa under the regent Desi Sangye Gyatso to illustrate this text, and this composition follows that teaching style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat the Painting Shows\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMedicine Buddha and the lineage:\u003c\/strong\u003e The blue figure at the top left is the Medicine Buddha, shown teaching, with sages around him. Physicians and lineage figures sit in a row along the top. Tibetan medicine traditionally presents its teachings as coming from the Medicine Buddha.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eConditions for conception:\u003c\/strong\u003e The coloured ovals in the upper rows represent the parents’ contributions and the conditions described as necessary for a new life to begin.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGrowth in the womb:\u003c\/strong\u003e The lower rows show the embryo inside the womb at successive stages, becoming more fully formed from one scene to the next.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe fish and the turtle:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Four Tantras describe early stages of pregnancy by comparing them to animals: a fish stage, a turtle stage and a pig stage. The creatures painted between the rows mark these phases.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHuman figures:\u003c\/strong\u003e The standing figures along the middle rows illustrate conditions and influences connected with conception and pregnancy.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTibetan script labels:\u003c\/strong\u003e Each scene carries a caption, as it would in a chart made for study.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eMaterial \u0026amp; Craftsmanship\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePainted in Nepal in the Tibetan medical painting tradition.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArranged in horizontal registers within a red border, following the layout of historical Tibetan medical paintings.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmall variations in colour, line work and lettering are natural in handmade work and may also appear through photography.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWho It Suits\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA meaningful piece for midwives, doctors and students of traditional medicine, for clinics and study rooms, and for anyone interested in how Himalayan medicine understood the beginning of life. It is an artwork and a cultural reference, not a guide for medical treatment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCare\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep away from direct sunlight, damp and heat. Display it framed or with a brocade mount, and store it rolled (never folded) with the painted side facing out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSubject:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tibetan medical embryology – conception and development in the womb\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan medicine)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 25 cm x 30 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/strong\u003e Nepal\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Himalayas Shop","offers":[{"title":"25 cm x 30 cm","offer_id":49520308584663,"sku":"YA-12744","price":29.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0308\/2878\/9805\/files\/YA-12744Medicineplant30x25cm_1.jpg?v=1785409487","url":"https:\/\/www.himalayasshop.com\/en-ca\/products\/tibetan-medical-thangka-embryology","provider":"Himalayas Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}