Cleveland Museum of Art

Owl-shaped Jar

Date

206 BCE–9 CE

Medium

Amber-brown glazed low-fired pottery

Culture

China, Henan province, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–8 CE)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Pottery vessels in the shape of owls were made since Neolithic times and throughout the Bronze age. These jars in the form of vigilant owls may have provided a tomb occupant with grain in the afterlife. However, the meaning of these mysterious birds and the association of the owl motif with burial sites in China is not fully understood. The jar cover is modeled in the shape of an owl's head.

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