Silver and gold smithery is used commonly in Bhutan to make Buddhist iconographical images of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, deities, lamas and dharma protectors. In the past, Bhutan relied on the skills of the Newari artists to carry very fine works of gold and silver statures. Thus, Newari artists were invited for numerous projects of statue making in Bhutan. Today, the Bhutanese artists carry out the work of statue making using gold and silver smithery.