Principles that govern every brushstroke in the sacred mandala
Canonical texts prescribe every proportion — a deity's face is exactly one-tenth of the full figure height, unchanged across seven centuries.
Lapis lazuli, cinnabar, and malachite ground by hand and layered in seven translucent washes to achieve luminous, light-catching depth.
Cardinal gates orient the sacred precinct in perfect bilateral symmetry, each guarded by wrathful and peaceful emanations facing inward.
Applied as the final layer, gold leaf transforms flat pigment into a radiant field that shifts with ambient light across the cotton ground.