The importance of the vase lies in the fact that it is one of the oldest metal objects to be decorated in this fashion on the Indian Subcontinent.

[1][2] Although originally thought to come from Kulu, the vase was discovered in 1857 near the Gandhola Monastery, about 18 km from Keylong in Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh.

The vase was eventually acquired by Major Hay, the local political agent of the British Raj, who donated it to the India Museum in London.

Bestriding a chariot pulled by four horses, he is closely followed by a line of cavalry and another royal personage riding an elephant.

Without any inscriptions or local context to the find, it is difficult to determine the significance and meaning of the characters and ceremony portrayed on the vase.