Our Nepali partner, an authoritative expert in Newar art and the owner of a family thangka collection that has been assembled over two centuries, told us that the root of the entire thangka tradition lies in the visual art of the ancient Newar people, known as paubha.

Traditional paubha artists belong to a distinct high caste in Nepal, and their works are intended to generate karmic merit both for the artist and for the patron who commissions the piece.

This art subsequently spread wherever Tibetan Buddhism took hold — alongside Newar architecture and other arts — across many countries in Asia, including China and Japan. This is how we came to know Tibetan thangkas.

Notably, the imagery on Newar thangkas includes not only Buddhist themes but also Hindu ones.