Nepal · Embroidery / Textile / Buddhist Craft
ताङ्खा थ्रेड काम (Tankha Thread Work)
Tankha metal thread embroidery is Nepal's tradition of producing Buddhist ceremonial textiles using gold and silver metal thread couched onto silk backgrounds — producing altar coverings, ceremonial bags, and the decorative textile borders of thangka scrolls. The technique is closely related to Bhutanese tshem-zo (CRAFT-0540) in using gold couching, but distinctly Nepali in its use of zari (metal thread wrapped around silk core) rather than flat gold thread, and in the or nué (shaded metal embroidery) technique where colored silk stitches placed over the metal thread at varying densities create shading effects while the metal glints between stitches. The or nué density calibration — how many silk cover stitches per centimeter of metal thread — is the critical tacit knowledge, and is assessed visually as a color-temperature ratio: cool areas (shadows) have dense silk cover; warm areas (highlights) have minimal cover, allowing maximum metal glint.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Nepal national ICH list
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