A Qing Dynasty thangka features Vajrabhairava as the center deity. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"The three-section form shows an influence of the creation of hand-scroll paintings in Zhongyuan (the Central Plains region) that divided a landscape into the foreground, middle ground and background."

She says thangka artists at the time also incorporated the precise brushwork of the gongbi genre of classical Chinese paintings.

Many thangka paintings on show are drawn on silk, while two dating to the early 20th century were made using the rare duixiu (piled-embroidery) technique, which requires meticulous skill to cut silk fabrics into various shapes and attach them to the painting to create a three-dimensional effect.

An says the special technique is still preserved by some thangka artists in Qinghai province and the Tibet autonomous region.