The use of richly decorated precious metal plates and drinking cups reveals the luxurious taste held by Sasanian royalty and the wealthy lords of the empire. Like this beautiful silver-gilt drinking bowl, finely crafted silver vessels are the most renowned Sasanian objects dating to this period. Sasanian period designs usually consist of subjects with a symbolic or religious meaning, and the use of rosettes, inherited from much earlier Near Eastern and Egyptian civilizations, on this bowl might not have been merely decorative; they might have been associated with water, prosperity, or fruitfulness. The Sasanian empire (AD 224-651), a high point of Iranian civilization, was a force to contend with for the Roman Empire. Although its rule terminated with the Arab invasion and the Muslim conquest, it influenced Islamic culture in every aspect of its arts and architecture.