This offering vessel, also known as hsun-ok, was used to carry food offerings to a monastery for special ceremonies.The body consists of a wide bowl set on a pedestal, while the top resembles a stupa, which is traditionally used to house precious relics in the Buddhist tradition. The exterior of the vessel is decorated with elaborate relief work made of thayo—a mixture of lacquer, sawdust, clay and ash—gilding and coloured glass inlay. The hintha bird at the top represents the goose (hamsa), the mount of Brahma and alludes to the sacred use of the vessel.
