The handle of this vessel comprises the tail of a dragon, whose body forms the lid. Historically, the Chinese dragon was associated with the Emperor of China and used as a symbol to represent imperial power. The dragon was also often used as a decorative motif for its symbolic association with land and rain, at a time when farmers depended on the deities to bring rainfall to their land. Several vessels like this one have been excavated from tombs in southern China. This vessel could have functioned to hold food, wine or even been employed to store grains used in burial ceremonies.

The Song dynasty was an era in Chinese history that began in 960 and continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, coincided with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties and was followed by the Yuan dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass. The Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods, Northern and Southern. During the Northern Song ( 960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now Eastern China. The Southern Song (1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of its northern half to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars.