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Heavy cast iron, 7 inch (18cm) tall, no marks. The body is three pieces soldered or welded together.

I suspect it's a 20th century novelty piece, but I can't find anything that looks similar.

Any information on this item regarding what/where/age if known would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

It may be a modern novelty but has a prototype in ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessels in the form of owls. The link to Sotheby's seems to have everything all of us have always wanted to know but heretofore have been afraid to ask on this subject.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :Owl in Early Chinese Art

In the event that link doesn't work for others, here's one you can try pasting in your browser:

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/sakamoto-n09124/sakamoto-goro/2014/02/the-owl-in-early-chi.html

If this second link doesn't work, try searching the part past the dot com in Google, which is where I found this originally.

Bill H.

This item is purporting to be a ritual vessel from the Shang or Zhou dynasties (2nd millennium BC) during the Bronze Age and should be made of bronze not iron.

I cannot say what type of mythical animal this is. Virtually all vessels of this type are modern reproductions (an authentic Shang bronze would bring at least $50,000 or more). Fakes started hitting the tourist market after discovery of Shang/Zhou period tombs after the Cultural Revolution. Your piece appears to be artificially aged with acid and other abrasives.

Bokaba

Thanks very much for the help. I see from the Sotheby's piece that this is clearly a representation of a Shang dynasty owl- exactly the information that I was looking for. Yes, obviously artificially stressed in some way.

Regards,
Maxxxxy

An authentic Shang owl vessel sold at Christies in 2013 for 1.2 million USD. These pieces are extremely rare. Not many were ever made and 3,000 years later, most of the few made have been lost or destroyed.

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-very-rare-and-exceptional-bronze-ritual-5661948-details.aspx

Bokaba

Thanks again. Unfortunately my little cast iron owl won't be travelling to Christie's any time soon.

Before we go our separate ways on this little guy, here's another latter-day model of an archaic vessel I've had for a long time and which shares similar fabrication techniques with the owlet. This piece is based on a Western Zhou wine vessel of a form called "You" (卣). Its non-ferrous metal sides look to be sand-cast in three pieces and soldered to each other and the separate base. The cover and knop look to be cast separately and joined through a drill hole that can be seen from below at the apex. The patina looks to have been fastidiously applied, though I wouldn't attempt to guess what all may have been used besides acid. The interior looks sort of a Bondo red, so there may have been copper in the metal.

The model is about six inches high by four inches in diameter and weighs a hefty 1.07kg, I'm guessing it and the owlet probably both date to the mid-20th century or a little later and might have been intended for museum gift shop sale, considering the apparent amount of careful labor that went into them.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Interesting! My little owl is definitely cast iron. The casting is a reasonably good quality, good detail, the iron fine-grained. Overall well-made. There's no sign of previous painting, as a few places escaped the "aging" process and show a smooth black finish. I like him, I think I may take a soft wire brush and clean him up just a little.
Thanks again.

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