Although earthenware fabrication was quite a difficult and labour-consuming activity for potters of the 10th-15th centuries, explorers have discovered about 2600 ceramic containers of all sorts in Volga Bulgaria: round, drop-shaped, cylindrical, narrow or wide necked, polished or ornamented.

The spherical cone vessel displayed here was found by archaeologists in the 19th century during excavations of the city of Bilyar, one of the Volga Bulgaria capital cities in the Middle Ages. It is made of clay, glazed, and patterned. It is 16 cm large, one of the largest size vessels discovered on the Bilyar city site; normally, the size of such artifacts does not exceed 10-15 centimetres.

Spherical cones were quite durable: their red or grey clay walls could be up to three centimetres thick. The elongated bottom, broad body, and thin neck prevented spills even when they were open and rolling. So, they were convenient for storage and delivery of liquids.

The actual purpose of these ancient spill-proof cups is still a mystery to historians. The contents of such spherical cones, which explorers managed to trace and identify, could easily be used in perfume making, medicine, alchemy, or religious rites. At first, experts thought these vessels were designed to be home lighting fixtures or containers for ignition compounds, but nobody proved that theory. Nowadays, scholars tend to think that spherical cones were multifunctional and used in various spheres of life. In households, they would be used to keep physics; in long-distance travels, they served as water pots.