Traditional Tuvan utensils were made of various materials: metal, wood, leather, wool, and the entrails of domestic animals, but the most accessible of these was undoubtedly wood.

A large part of the territory of Tuva is occupied by forests, so it is always easy to reach small forests located in river valleys and on the slopes of nearby mountains. Products made of wood have important properties for the nomadic way of life — they are light and durable. Wood is also notable for being easy to work with.

Most wooden utensils were made at home. Every Tuvan household was able to make wooden cups, mortars, troughs, milk vessels, and also processed birch bark as needed.

Metal utensils suitable for the nomadic way of life were of particular demand among Tuvans. Unlike wooden utensils, which were made by the yurt master himself, metal items were ordered from a Tuvan blacksmith. Richly decorated small metal buckets were also commissioned from blacksmiths.

The bucket in the literary Tuvan language is called humun.

Tuvans used buckets of different sizes in their households for storing liquids, including milk, water, sour milk drinks, as well as dairy products and for milking cows, goats, sheep, and adult female deer. Buckets for milking livestock were washed immediately after finishing milking and milk processing. The buckets were filled with water from a spring near the camp.

The exhibition of the Aldan-Maadyr National Museum of the Republic of Tuva presents a small metal bucket of cylindrical shape. It is decorated with patterned bands, consisting of two and three levels. The two-tiered band shows a twisted vegetal pattern on one level and a four-petal motif, connected like a puzzle, on the other level.

The three-tiered band has a four-petal pattern on the upper and lower levels, and a plant twisted pattern on the central level. The handles are secured with a thin rectangular plate on which a floral design is carved.