The wooden choron cup was made from a single piece of wood in the first quarter of the 20th century. The vessel is a pot on three shaped legs with a rounded bottom. The spherical-shaped body passes into a slightly pronounced neck and then into a slightly bent rim. The thick walls of the vessel in the lower part become thinner towards the top.

The legs go down from the middle of the bottom at an angle and have the form of horses’ hooves at the end. The outer surface of the cup is decorated with dihedral-incised carving with four rows of patterned borders. Rows of lines also run along the sides of the legs.

Such a choron was used by Yakuts to serve koumiss, a fermented drink made from mare’s milk, during folk festivals. The main holiday of this Turkic people is Ysyakh, which is traditionally accompanied by koumiss drinking from large wooden cups, games and sports competitions.

The main traditional occupation of the Yakut people was horse breeding. In Russian documents of the 17th century Yakuts were called horse people. This region has for many years been ranked first in Russia in terms of horse population. Thus, in 2022 there were more than 180 thousand horses in the republic.

The activities of Yakuts are not limited to horse breeding. They breed cattle, and in the north — reindeer. Cattle breeds in this region have always been known for their endurance, though they are also known for their low productivity. Although the people are engaged in hunting, gathering and fishing, their main diet is still dairy, especially in summer. Mare’s milk is usually used to make koumiss, whereas cow’s milk is used to produce curdled milk, cream and butter. There is also a tradition to consume butter melted or with koumiss.

Fish was the main diet for the poor in the region and for those living in the northern areas where there were no livestock. Meat was consumed mainly by the rich. Horse meat was especially valued. In the 19th century, barley flour came into use, from which unleavened flatbreads, fritters and pottage began to be cooked. The choron for koumiss was transferred to the museum from the Omsk department of the Russian Geographical Society in 1923.