The cup, on a high flaring foot is decorated with a repoussé motif of petals, and a beaded relief surrounds the inner rim. The type is of western origin, probably from the Roman Mediterranean, and arrived in Iran and Central Asia about the fifth century A.D. during a time of active international trade. It became an element of the luxury tableware in Central Asian courts that is so vividly depicted in Sogdian mural paintings.