Both the superlative quality of the workmanship and the fragility of the spoon are definite indicators that this was not a utilitarian object but a showy collector’s item, which, in the present instance, was made to mark the occasion of a wedding. This interpretation is suggested by the scene on the back of the spoon bowl: a couple is depicted bathing naked in a wooden tub, with the woman’s attractiveness underscored by the nearly frontal display with which she flaunts her naked breasts.

Both the superlative quality of the workmanship and the fragility of the spoon are definite indicators that this was not a utilitarian object but a showy collector’s item, which, in the present instance, was made to mark the occasion of a wedding. This interpretation is suggested by the scene on the back of the spoon bowl: a couple is depicted bathing naked in a wooden tub, with the woman’s attractiveness underscored by the nearly frontal display with which she flaunts her naked breasts.