Beautiful, unique paper lantern. Handmade in Nepal.

These lanterns have hand-printed art and symbols refering to Buddhism and/or Hinduism. This lantern in particular has a print of Tara. Cult of goddess Tara is a uniting element of buddhism and hinduism in the Himalayan areas. As the only female boddhisattva, Tara is an embodiment of compassion, mercy, protection against evil and obstacles. She also personifies female strenght, courage and life energy. Her cult promotes equality of genders and appreciation of women's role in spirituality and society of Nepal. Tara traditionally has 6 aspects, which are:

White Tara (Sitatara) - symbol of mercy, longevity and good health. She is thought to help with healing difficult illnesses and elongating life expectancy. She is also thought to embody our expression of compassion and support of each other.
Green Tara (Svetatara) - this aspect is connected to protecting and reaching our goals. She helps with solving difficulties and transforming obstacles into growth opportunities on our spiritual way. Green Tara also refers to energy and being active.
Red Tara (Raktatara) - symbolizes action and determination. She helps with solving problems and reaching success in spiritual and material life. She is thought as a goddess of love, affection and attraction.

Black Tara (Kali) - refers to transformation through destruction. She destroys negativity and evil energy, and helps in establishing healthy thoughts and habits. Black Tara is the one to pray to in order to get through the most difficult things in our lives.
Yellow Tara (Bhrikuti) - keeper of knowledge, Yellow Tara helps in gaining wisdom. Protector of science, helps us to acquire skills and abilities needed to reach our spiritual goals.
Goddess Ekajata (Riwo Tārā) - this aspect of Tara is connected to protection against negative influences and demons. She helps to keep calm, inner peace and protects us from dangers.

Lokta paper:

it's made from the bark of the bush named Daphne Cannabina (it only grows at an altitude of 6500ft or above in the Himalayas)
it's 100% handmade - The bark of the bush has to be boiled for 8 hours to soften and break down the fibres, nextly it's hand sifted before being pulped. The next step is adding lokta pulp to the wooden frames (the manufacturing process takes place in water). Once the frame is drained the last step is to dry it in the sun. It's all done by Himalayan villagers.
it's a product of ancient Nepalese craftsmanship
eco paper - the inner bark is stripped away, but the root system isn't damaged which allows Daphne Cannabina to regrow itself very fastly.