Nepalese sculpture
The sculpture of Nepal is best known for small religious figures and ritual objects in bronze or copper alloy, but also has other strengths. The Newar people of Nepal had a long-lasting specialism in casting small bronze figures, mostly religious and especially Buddhist, considerable numbers of which were exported to India and Tibet over many centuries. Stylistic history Though the most common survivals are small figures, for reasons of climate and history, Nepal also has an unusual quantity of surviving large sculptures in wood and bronze, which have mostly been lost in India, where significant quantities of metal sculpture from temples have only survived in Tamil Nadu and other parts of the far south. Though there are small figures similar to those in bronze, most woodcarving is architectural, including the elaborate Newar windows. Nepali sculpture draws influences from the sculpture and artistic styles of Indian art, of the Gupta and Pala Empires in particular. The majority of the surviving sculptures depict religious figures and subjects, drawn from both Hinduism and Buddhism, as the two religions have coexisted peacefully in the Nepalese region for over two thousand years. Although drawing on the sculptural traditions of India, and the religious iconography of