Assam has a rich history of art and culture. The earliest mention of Assamese Manuscript Painting was found in the account of Chinese traveller Xuanzang. The painted manuscripts of the middle ages had traditional paintings on them based on stories from Hastividyanarva, the Chitra Bhagawata and Geet Govinda. Miniatures are paintings small in size whose reference was found in the accounts of Bana, the court poet of King Harshavardhana.