#TwoForTuesday :
Pair of Owl-Shaped Jars
China, Henan province, Western Han dynasty, 206 BCE-9 CE
Amber brown-glazed low-fired pottery
19 x 13.8 x 11.8 cm (7 1/2 x 5 7/16 x 4 5/8 in.)
Cleveland Museum of Art
2020.178.1-2
“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.”