diff --git a/include/qemu/compiler.h b/include/qemu/compiler.h
index ac7c4c4..df9dd51 100644
--- a/include/qemu/compiler.h
+++ b/include/qemu/compiler.h
@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@
 #define QEMU_WARN_UNUSED_RESULT
 #endif
 
+#if QEMU_GNUC_PREREQ(4, 0)
+#define QEMU_SENTINEL __attribute__((sentinel))
+#else
+#define QEMU_SENTINEL
+#endif
+
 #if QEMU_GNUC_PREREQ(4, 3)
 #define QEMU_ARTIFICIAL __attribute__((always_inline, artificial))
 #else
diff --git a/include/qom/object.h b/include/qom/object.h
index d30c68c..fcacdb0 100644
--- a/include/qom/object.h
+++ b/include/qom/object.h
@@ -607,6 +607,134 @@ Object *object_new(const char *typename);
 Object *object_new_with_type(Type type);
 
 /**
+ * object_new_with_props:
+ * @typename:  The name of the type of the object to instantiate.
+ * @parent: the parent object
+ * @id: The unique ID of the object
+ * @errp: pointer to error object
+ * @...: list of property names and values
+ *
+ * This function will initialize a new object using heap allocated memory.
+ * The returned object has a reference count of 1, and will be freed when
+ * the last reference is dropped.
+ *
+ * The @id parameter will be used when registering the object as a
+ * child of @parent in the objects composition tree.
+ *
+ * The variadic parameters are a list of pairs of (propname, propvalue)
+ * strings. The propname of %NULL indicates the end of the property
+ * list. If the object implements the user creatable interface, the
+ * object will be marked complete once all the properties have been
+ * processed.
+ *
+ * <example>
+ *   <title>Creating an object with properties</title>
+ *   <programlisting>
+ *   Error *err = NULL;
+ *   Object *obj;
+ *
+ *   obj = object_new_with_props(TYPE_MEMORY_BACKEND_FILE,
+ *                               object_get_objects_root(),
+ *                               "hostmem0",
+ *                               &err,
+ *                               "share", "yes",
+ *                               "mem-path", "/dev/shm/somefile",
+ *                               "prealloc", "yes",
+ *                               "size", "1048576",
+ *                               NULL);
+ *
+ *   if (!obj) {
+ *     g_printerr("Cannot create memory backend: %s\n",
+ *                error_get_pretty(err));
+ *   }
+ *   </programlisting>
+ * </example>
+ *
+ * The returned object will have one stable reference maintained
+ * for as long as it is present in the object hierarchy.
+ *
+ * Returns: The newly allocated, instantiated & initialized object.
+ */
+Object *object_new_with_props(const char *typename,
+                              Object *parent,
+                              const char *id,
+                              Error **errp,
+                              ...) QEMU_SENTINEL;
+
+/**
+ * object_new_with_propv:
+ * @typename:  The name of the type of the object to instantiate.
+ * @parent: the parent object
+ * @id: The unique ID of the object
+ * @errp: pointer to error object
+ * @vargs: list of property names and values
+ *
+ * See object_new_with_props() for documentation.
+ */
+Object *object_new_with_propv(const char *typename,
+                              Object *parent,
+                              const char *id,
+                              Error **errp,
+                              va_list vargs);
+
+/**
+ * object_set_props:
+ * @obj: the object instance to set properties on
+ * @errp: pointer to error object
+ * @...: list of property names and values
+ *
+ * This function will set a list of properties on an existing object
+ * instance.
+ *
+ * The variadic parameters are a list of pairs of (propname, propvalue)
+ * strings. The propname of %NULL indicates the end of the property
+ * list.
+ *
+ * <example>
+ *   <title>Update an object's properties</title>
+ *   <programlisting>
+ *   Error *err = NULL;
+ *   Object *obj = ...get / create object...;
+ *
+ *   obj = object_set_props(obj,
+ *                          &err,
+ *                          "share", "yes",
+ *                          "mem-path", "/dev/shm/somefile",
+ *                          "prealloc", "yes",
+ *                          "size", "1048576",
+ *                          NULL);
+ *
+ *   if (!obj) {
+ *     g_printerr("Cannot set properties: %s\n",
+ *                error_get_pretty(err));
+ *   }
+ *   </programlisting>
+ * </example>
+ *
+ * The returned object will have one stable reference maintained
+ * for as long as it is present in the object hierarchy.
+ *
+ * Returns: -1 on error, 0 on success
+ */
+int object_set_props(Object *obj,
+                     Error **errp,
+                     ...) QEMU_SENTINEL;
+
+/**
+ * object_set_propv:
+ * @obj: the object instance to set properties on
+ * @errp: pointer to error object
+ * @vargs: list of property names and values
+ *
+ * See object_set_props() for documentation.
+ *
+ * Returns: -1 on error, 0 on success
+ */
+int object_set_propv(Object *obj,
+                     Error **errp,
+                     va_list vargs);
+
+/**
  * object_initialize_with_type:
  * @data: A pointer to the memory to be used for the object.
  * @size: The maximum size available at @data for the object.
diff --git a/qom/object.c b/qom/object.c
index baeece2..55ab081 100644
--- a/qom/object.c
+++ b/qom/object.c
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
  */
 
 #include "qom/object.h"
+#include "qom/object_interfaces.h"
 #include "qemu-common.h"
 #include "qapi/visitor.h"
 #include "qapi-visit.h"
@@ -439,6 +440,114 @@ Object *object_new(const char *typename)
     return object_new_with_type(ti);
 }
 
+
+Object *object_new_with_props(const char *typename,
+                              Object *parent,
+                              const char *id,
+                              Error **errp,
+                              ...)
+{
+    va_list vargs;
+    Object *obj;
+
+    va_start(vargs, errp);
+    obj = object_new_with_propv(typename, parent, id, errp, vargs);
+    va_end(vargs);
+
+    return obj;
+}
+
+
+Object *object_new_with_propv(const char *typename,
+                              Object *parent,
+                              const char *id,
+                              Error **errp,
+                              va_list vargs)
+{
+    Object *obj;
+    ObjectClass *klass;
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
+
+    klass = object_class_by_name(typename);
+    if (!klass) {
+        error_setg(errp, "invalid object type: %s", typename);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    if (object_class_is_abstract(klass)) {
+        error_setg(errp, "object type '%s' is abstract", typename);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    obj = object_new(typename);
+
+    if (object_set_propv(obj, &local_err, vargs) < 0) {
+        goto error;
+    }
+
+    object_property_add_child(parent, id, obj, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        goto error;
+    }
+
+    if (object_dynamic_cast(obj, TYPE_USER_CREATABLE)) {
+        user_creatable_complete(obj, &local_err);
+        if (local_err) {
+            object_unparent(obj);
+            goto error;
+        }
+    }
+
+    object_unref(OBJECT(obj));
+    return obj;
+
+ error:
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+    }
+    object_unref(obj);
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+
+int object_set_props(Object *obj,
+                     Error **errp,
+                     ...)
+{
+    va_list vargs;
+    int ret;
+
+    va_start(vargs, errp);
+    ret = object_set_propv(obj, errp, vargs);
+    va_end(vargs);
+
+    return ret;
+}
+
+
+int object_set_propv(Object *obj,
+                     Error **errp,
+                     va_list vargs)
+{
+    const char *propname;
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
+
+    propname = va_arg(vargs, char *);
+    while (propname != NULL) {
+        const char *value = va_arg(vargs, char *);
+
+        g_assert(value != NULL);
+        object_property_parse(obj, value, propname, &local_err);
+        if (local_err) {
+            error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        propname = va_arg(vargs, char *);
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+
 Object *object_dynamic_cast(Object *obj, const char *typename)
 {
     if (obj && object_class_dynamic_cast(object_get_class(obj), typename)) {
diff --git a/tests/.gitignore b/tests/.gitignore
index 0dcb618..dc813c2 100644
--- a/tests/.gitignore
+++ b/tests/.gitignore
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ check-qjson
 check-qlist
 check-qstring
 check-qom-interface
+check-qom-proplist
 rcutorture
 test-aio
 test-bitops
diff --git a/tests/Makefile b/tests/Makefile
index 729b969..39c6e2c 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile
+++ b/tests/Makefile
@@ -68,6 +68,8 @@ check-unit-y += tests/test-bitops$(EXESUF)
 check-unit-$(CONFIG_HAS_GLIB_SUBPROCESS_TESTS) += tests/test-qdev-global-props$(EXESUF)
 check-unit-y += tests/check-qom-interface$(EXESUF)
 gcov-files-check-qom-interface-y = qom/object.c
+check-unit-y += tests/check-qom-proplist$(EXESUF)
+gcov-files-check-qom-proplist-y = qom/object.c
 check-unit-y += tests/test-qemu-opts$(EXESUF)
 gcov-files-test-qemu-opts-y = qom/test-qemu-opts.c
 check-unit-y += tests/test-write-threshold$(EXESUF)
@@ -264,7 +266,7 @@ test-qapi-obj-y = tests/test-qapi-visit.o tests/test-qapi-types.o \
 
 $(test-obj-y): QEMU_INCLUDES += -Itests
 QEMU_CFLAGS += -I$(SRC_PATH)/tests
-qom-core-obj = qom/object.o qom/qom-qobject.o qom/container.o
+qom-core-obj = qom/object.o qom/qom-qobject.o qom/container.o qom/object_interfaces.o
 
 tests/check-qint$(EXESUF): tests/check-qint.o libqemuutil.a
 tests/check-qstring$(EXESUF): tests/check-qstring.o libqemuutil.a
@@ -273,6 +275,7 @@ tests/check-qlist$(EXESUF): tests/check-qlist.o libqemuutil.a
 tests/check-qfloat$(EXESUF): tests/check-qfloat.o libqemuutil.a
 tests/check-qjson$(EXESUF): tests/check-qjson.o libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a
 tests/check-qom-interface$(EXESUF): tests/check-qom-interface.o $(qom-core-obj) libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a
+tests/check-qom-proplist$(EXESUF): tests/check-qom-proplist.o $(qom-core-obj) libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a
 tests/test-coroutine$(EXESUF): tests/test-coroutine.o $(block-obj-y) libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a
 tests/test-aio$(EXESUF): tests/test-aio.o $(block-obj-y) libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a
 tests/test-rfifolock$(EXESUF): tests/test-rfifolock.o libqemuutil.a libqemustub.a
diff --git a/tests/check-qom-proplist.c b/tests/check-qom-proplist.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e82532e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/check-qom-proplist.c
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2015 Red Hat, Inc.
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library.  If not, see
+ * <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * Author: Daniel P. Berrange <berrange@redhat.com>
+ */
+
+#include <glib.h>
+
+#include "qom/object.h"
+#include "qemu/module.h"
+
+
+#define TYPE_DUMMY "qemu-dummy"
+
+typedef struct DummyObject DummyObject;
+typedef struct DummyObjectClass DummyObjectClass;
+
+#define DUMMY_OBJECT(obj)                               \
+    OBJECT_CHECK(DummyObject, (obj), TYPE_DUMMY)
+
+struct DummyObject {
+    Object parent_obj;
+
+    bool bv;
+    char *sv;
+};
+
+struct DummyObjectClass {
+    ObjectClass parent_class;
+};
+
+
+static void dummy_set_bv(Object *obj,
+                         bool value,
+                         Error **errp)
+{
+    DummyObject *dobj = DUMMY_OBJECT(obj);
+
+    dobj->bv = value;
+}
+
+static bool dummy_get_bv(Object *obj,
+                         Error **errp)
+{
+    DummyObject *dobj = DUMMY_OBJECT(obj);
+
+    return dobj->bv;
+}
+
+
+static void dummy_set_sv(Object *obj,
+                         const char *value,
+                         Error **errp)
+{
+    DummyObject *dobj = DUMMY_OBJECT(obj);
+
+    g_free(dobj->sv);
+    dobj->sv = g_strdup(value);
+}
+
+static char *dummy_get_sv(Object *obj,
+                          Error **errp)
+{
+    DummyObject *dobj = DUMMY_OBJECT(obj);
+
+    return g_strdup(dobj->sv);
+}
+
+
+static void dummy_init(Object *obj)
+{
+    object_property_add_bool(obj, "bv",
+                             dummy_get_bv,
+                             dummy_set_bv,
+                             NULL);
+    object_property_add_str(obj, "sv",
+                            dummy_get_sv,
+                            dummy_set_sv,
+                            NULL);
+}
+
+static void dummy_finalize(Object *obj)
+{
+    DummyObject *dobj = DUMMY_OBJECT(obj);
+
+    g_free(dobj->sv);
+}
+
+
+static const TypeInfo dummy_info = {
+    .name          = TYPE_DUMMY,
+    .parent        = TYPE_OBJECT,
+    .instance_size = sizeof(DummyObject),
+    .instance_init = dummy_init,
+    .instance_finalize = dummy_finalize,
+    .class_size = sizeof(DummyObjectClass),
+};
+
+static void test_dummy_createv(void)
+{
+    Error *err = NULL;
+    Object *parent = object_get_objects_root();
+    DummyObject *dobj = DUMMY_OBJECT(
+        object_new_with_props(TYPE_DUMMY,
+                              parent,
+                              "dummy0",
+                              &err,
+                              "bv", "yes",
+                              "sv", "Hiss hiss hiss",
+                              NULL));
+
+    g_assert(err == NULL);
+    g_assert_cmpstr(dobj->sv, ==, "Hiss hiss hiss");
+    g_assert(dobj->bv == true);
+
+    g_assert(object_resolve_path_component(parent, "dummy0")
+             == OBJECT(dobj));
+
+    object_unparent(OBJECT(dobj));
+}
+
+
+static Object *new_helper(Error **errp,
+                          Object *parent,
+                          ...)
+{
+    va_list vargs;
+    Object *obj;
+
+    va_start(vargs, parent);
+    obj = object_new_with_propv(TYPE_DUMMY,
+                                parent,
+                                "dummy0",
+                                errp,
+                                vargs);
+    va_end(vargs);
+    return obj;
+}
+
+static void test_dummy_createlist(void)
+{
+    Error *err = NULL;
+    Object *parent = object_get_objects_root();
+    DummyObject *dobj = DUMMY_OBJECT(
+        new_helper(&err,
+                   parent,
+                   "bv", "yes",
+                   "sv", "Hiss hiss hiss",
+                   NULL));
+
+    g_assert(err == NULL);
+    g_assert_cmpstr(dobj->sv, ==, "Hiss hiss hiss");
+    g_assert(dobj->bv == true);
+
+    g_assert(object_resolve_path_component(parent, "dummy0")
+             == OBJECT(dobj));
+
+    object_unparent(OBJECT(dobj));
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+    g_test_init(&argc, &argv, NULL);
+
+    module_call_init(MODULE_INIT_QOM);
+    type_register_static(&dummy_info);
+
+    g_test_add_func("/qom/proplist/createlist", test_dummy_createlist);
+    g_test_add_func("/qom/proplist/createv", test_dummy_createv);
+
+    return g_test_run();
+}
