Chemchog Heruka is a wrathful deity from the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism who aids followers in overcoming ignorance. He has three faces and six hands, the lower pair embracing his blue partner and holding a vajra and bell. His large wings stretch out behind him against an aureole of flames representing pristine awareness. The couple is surrounded by various retinue figures in a spacious landscape.

This large and finely rendered painting is comparable to an east Tibetan thangka in the Rubin Museum of Art, which displays a similar composition and use of space. However, as the Rubin thangka dates to about 200 years later than the present work, we see the palette shift to more contrasting colors, including the use of black, as well as a more formalized, static painting style (F1997.14.1). For further comparison of the palette, spacious composition and the tightly rendered flame halos, see another thangka of Chemchog Heruka in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1967-246-2).