Araniko

Araniko or Anige (born Balabahu, 1245 - 1306 A.D.) was one of the key figures in the arts of Nepal, Tibet, and Yuan China, and the artistic exchanges in these areas. He was born in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, during the reign of Jaya Bhim Dev Malla. He was sent on a mission to Tibet and China to work in the courts of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, the founder of Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). It was in China that he got his name "Araniko" or "Anige". The literal meaning of his name in Chinese is "ara" meaning "woman" and "niko" meaning "face like", possibly implying that he had a womanly face. Alternatively, it is also possible that his name could mean Aa Ni Ka, meaning "respectable brother from Nepal".