 From designs for painted furniture to elaborate murals in religious buildings, their efforts have permeated virtually every facet of life on the Tibetan plateau.The vast majority of surviving artworks created before the mid-20th century are dedicated to the depiction of religious subjects, for the most part being distemper on cloth or murals.They were commissioned by religious establishments or by pious individuals for use within the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and were manufactured in large workshops by uncredited artists.