Tibetan mineral plant pigment production technology

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Tibetan mineral plant pigment production technology

Applicant: Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region

Project No.: 1179

Project No.: Ⅷ - 199

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Tibet Autonomous Region

Type: new item

Applicant: Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region

Protection unit: Lhasa Chengguan District ancient art architectural art company

Brief introduction of Tibetan mineral plant pigment production technology:

Applicant: Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region

In Tibet, the production and application of mineral plant painting pigments has a long history of more than 2000 years. Since ancient times, the pigments used in Tibetan painting have been extracted from the local mineral plants in the snow plateau. Tibetan pigments rely on their unique properties that remain unchanged for thousands of years. The works drawn with these materials are all over the temples and ancient buildings in Tibet, such as the Potala Palace and the ruins of the Guge Dynasty. Although they have been exposed to the wind and sun for thousands of years and eroded by years, they are still well preserved.

Tibetan plant pigments are rich and colorfast; they are pure in color, light resistant and heat-resistant. They are suitable for murals, Buddha statues, temples and house decoration in temples, especially for house decoration that has been exposed for a long time, and occupy an extremely important position in Tibet.

In history, the processing technology of Tibetan mineral plant painting pigments was mainly distributed in Lhasa, Xigaze, Changdu, Shannan and other places, mostly in the form of murals, Thangka painters' personal, family or painter organization's own processing and production. However, due to historical reasons, no one has made or used the pigment since the middle of the 20th century, which makes this unique production process face the situation of lost.