Page from a Newari sketchbook: Rajeshvari

Newars were among the earliest people to settle the Kathmandu Valley. Many took up the occupation of artists, using iconographical drawings to guide their production of religious imagery. The page comes from a nowdispersed manual that contained images of various Hindu deities. One side of each page in the museum's collection contains the illustration of a goddess. The other side contains sketches, diagrams, and instructional texts that, in many instances, do not pertain to the figure on the reverse.