From the 7th to 9th centuries there survive pre-Buddhist carved-stone pillars decorated with Chinese, Central Asian, and Indian motifs and also a stone lion showing traces of Persian influence.

The art of casting images in bronze and other metals entered Tibet from Nepal and India. Having first followed foreign models, the Tibetans gradually developed their own styles and began to depict their own lamas and teachers as well as the vast pantheon of Buddhas, gods, and goddesses inherited from India, each distinguished ichnographically by posture, hand gestures, and accoutrements. (Of lesser divinities and especially of lamas, the identification is often difficult. It is rare that an image is named in an inscription and even rarer to find a date. Because of the extremely conservative nature of Tibetan art, correct dating within several centuries is often impossible.) Images of vast size, rising up through two or three stories, are quite often seen in Tibetan temples, and their construction and dedication is considered a work of vast religious merit. (see also Index: metalwork)

Since images are mainly cast or molded, carving is restricted to decorative motifs, especially on wooden pillars and roof beams. Wood carving and terra-cotta, particularly in western and southern Tibet, were common. Papier-mâché, elaborately painted, was also used for masks of divinities. This use presumably originated in Kashmir.