Bronze vessels of this type attest to the high degree of skill and sophistication among early Islamic metalworkers and should probably be regarded as luxury wares. This example follows a long-standing practice in Iran of creating zoomorphic vessels. Here the metalworker has surmounted the body of the ewer with a bull-headed spout, which must have provoked delight and even mirth whenever liquid was poured from it. On one of the vertical flutes is an inscribed "signature" with the name Ahmad.