The close contacts between China, Central Asia--particularly Sogdiana (centered in present-day Uzbekistan), which had longstanding mercantile ties with China--and Sassanian-period Iran played a critical role in the evolution of metalwork during the Tang period. This elegant bowl, which dates to the late 7th or early 8th century, typifies the use of Sassanian and Sogdian motifs and techniques. The bowl was shaped by hammering, or "raising," a sheet of silver into this form, then additional hammering produced the design, including the embossing of the lobed lotus petals decorating the sides and the chasing of the ring matting, that is, the background of small circles on the exterior. Not found in Chinese art prior to the Tang period, both raising and ring matting were techniques commonly used in Sassanian and Sogdian metalwork, suggesting a likely source for their introduction to China.

The lotus petals on this bowl are decorated with floral arabesques inhabited by birds: the symmetrical treatment of these motifs and the static, face-to-face birds probably stem from West and Central Asian sources. The decoration on the rim, in which a wide variety of animals race through stylized flora, derives from Chinese prototypes. Scrolling floral vines and running animals also decorate the footring and the bottom of the bowl's interior. The freer, more calligraphic style, and more sinicized treatment of these vines contrasts with the stylization of motifs on the outside of the bowl and further attests to the sophisticated interplay of native and foreign elements in Tang metalwork.

The vines, flowers, birds, and animals on this bowl were covered with gilding (usually gold leaf or some gold-colored pigment), much of which has worn away over time. It is possible that the interior of this bowl was once covered with a liner that hid the tool marks made by the hammered designs.