A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE

A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE

$7,500.00
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A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
  • A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE
A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE

A Pair of Western Han Dynasty Painted Grey Pottery Owl-Form Vessels – China, 206 BCE – 9 CE

$7,500.00

A rare and evocative pair of Chinese painted grey pottery owl-form vessels, dating to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 9 CE), from the prominent David and Beverly Hall Billings Collection, Nantucket, Massachusetts. Works with named American private collection provenance of this caliber are among the most desirable in the Chinese antiquities market.

Each vessel is modeled in the form of an owl with wings held close to the body, the backs folded snugly over one another in a compact and balanced composition. The faces are boldly characterized by large hooked beaks and rounded, slightly protruding eyes, lending the figures a vigilant and commanding presence. The restrained yet expressive modeling exemplifies the Han dynasty’s ability to combine natural observation with stylized abstraction — a quality that distinguishes the finest Han ceramic sculpture from the merely competent.

Owl-Form Vessels in Han Dynasty Art

Animal-form vessels of the Western Han period occupied an important place in the funerary arts of early imperial China. The Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) was one of the great ages of Chinese ceramic production, and the tomb assemblages of the period — designed to furnish the deceased with everything needed for a comfortable and protected afterlife — included a remarkable range of figural vessels, mingqi (spirit objects), and architectural models.

The owl held particular symbolic resonance in early Chinese culture. Associated with vigilance, the boundary between night and day, and the liminal threshold between the living and the dead, owl imagery in funerary contexts carried apotropaic and guardianship associations — the owl as protector of the tomb and guide of the soul. Pairs of such vessels, conceived as complementary objects, reinforced these protective functions through their symmetry and balance.

Grey pottery of the Western Han period — wheel-thrown or hand-modeled, fired at relatively low temperatures, and often decorated with painted pigments applied after firing — represents one of the most characteristic and collectible ceramic traditions of early imperial China. Major Han dynasty ceramic works are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Artwork Details

Culture: Chinese, Western Han Dynasty
Period: Western Han
Date: 206 BCE – 9 CE
Material: Painted grey pottery
Height (each): 8⅜ in (21.3 cm)
Quantity: Pair of two vessels

Provenance

Property from the Collection of David and Beverly Hall Billings, Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Condition

Surface wear and abrasions with scattered minor chips, consistent with age and archaeological ceramic material. Please review all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description.

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