Foreign influence on the art of the Tang Dynasty can be seen in gold and silver. From the very early times, gold and silver were almost always cast, just like bronze is, into a shape. In the Tang Dynasty, a dramatic change took place. The Tang gold and silver smiths started to hammer gold and silver into shape, and this was a technique adopted from the West. The other thing that also took place in the Tang Dynasty is the way that these lines were made onto the surface of gold and silver objects.

They were no longer cast onto the surface, but rather they were chased in very fine lines. Some of the objects in this case do reflect both the technique and also decorative elements which came from foreign lands. For example, the deer, which has a crownlike antler, or some of these spiral patterns in flower, in leaves. All of these elements actually were brought in by the tradesmen from the Silk Road.