Portraits of piety

One features the naked dancing female deity, Naro-mkhav-spyod-ma, also known as Naro Dakini, who often symbolizes wisdom and strength. The other depicts the female deity, Dpal ldan lha mo, or Palden Lhamo, who's the guardian of Lhasa.

An says some thangka paintings on display show exchanges between Tibetan and Han Buddhism. For instance, one created between the late 18th and early 19th centuries that depicts a wrathful Vajrabhairava deity shows the popular adoption of a three-section composition in thangka painting that began in the 15th century.

"A principal Buddhist deity or teacher is in the center, surrounded by associated gods and lineage figures of much smaller sizes, symmetrically placed in the landscapes of the heavens above and the Earth below," An says.