SHANG DYNASTY, C. 1600-1046 BC

The motif of the owl is one of the earliest and most prominent images in ancient China. As early as the Neolithic periods, owl was already represented in the art of different cultures, such as the pottery owls of the Yangshao Culture (C. 5500-3500 BC), and jade carvings of small owls of the Hongshan Culture (C. 4000-3000 BC). By the Shang dynasty, the owl was depicted in round sculptural forms in various media including jade, marble, and bronze, almost invariably in a powerful stance, as the Shang people may have believed it to represent the God of War. Compare to a closely related jade owl was found in the tomb of Fu Hao, see The Jades from Yinxu, Beijing, 1981, no. 56 (465) (fig. 1).