A Tibetan, or other Himalayan, mandala Thangka with a central square designed with four entrances at the cardinal points of North, South, East and West; the outer register of the mandala circle with a continuous design of scavenging mammals and carrion birds, apparently performing Jhator [Sky Burial] as a symbol of life's transitory impermanence. The field at the exterior of the mandala, designed with a number of Panchen, students or other figures, presumably as assistance towards enlightenment. Framed and glazed with overall dimensions of 74 x 61 cm.Provenance: From a Private UK Collection. The Property of a Lady, inherited from her late husband, Major William ['Bill'] George Towill [1920-2013], late 3/9th Gurkha Rifles, who had been present at Dunkirk, and who subsequently served as a Chindit in Burma. According to the vendor, writing as Justine Dowley-Wise in her travelogue 'Around the World in 85 Years', she and her husband were invited to an audience with His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama at his monastery in Sikkim. It was at this moment that His Holiness gave Major Towill this Thangka. . Please note that it has not been possible to extract the Thangka from its frame; areas of pigment, or other, wear, deterioration or damage.