The Lua language allows to define new variable types, and LuaTeX uses this concept for new types like ‘node’ and ‘font’. In this talk an image library as part of the LuaTeX engine is presented, which is built around a new ‘image’ type, giving extended image handling and embedding capabilities. The image primitives inherited from pdfTeX are still fully functional for compatibility. First the process of image embedding and its limitations using the pdfTeX primitives is described. Then, after a short introduction about Lua libraries, the ‘image’ type of LuaTeX is presented together with the set of new Lua functions for image handling, and their use is illustrated by examples. As work is still ongoing, possible future extensions are discussed as well.