This is the only surviving example of the Western-style rhyton from ancient China, and its origin is still academically controversial. This bull-head drinking vessel features a wide mouth at the top and a gold-inlaid hole through a conical constriction at the bottom from which the fluid runs. In practical use, one would scoop wine or water from a storage vessel or a similar source, hold it up, unstop the hole with one’s thumb, and let the fluid run into the mouth or onto the ground in libation. This vessel is carved from a rare piece of colorful sardonyx, a favored kind of agate for handicrafts in the Tang Dynasty. Its front end is shaped into a bull head with the eyes widely open and the mouth gold-inlaid. The craftsmen cleverly utilized the original shape, color and texture of the precious stone. Every detail is intricate and lifelike. The excavation of this rhyton proves Tang nobles’ admiration for the exotic life style.