3-047-582 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Loom weight with Spinning Owl, 3rd-2nd century BC. Additional Info: Hemispherical loom weight with two holes. On the front (worn), an owl with wings, feet and arms. The extra limbs allow it to hold a distaff and spin wool from a conical basket represented below the spindle. Despite the owl's association with Athens, loom weights with a spinning owl appear to be a unique characteristic of the southern Italian peninsula. The loom weight has pink-to-red clay with lime inclusions, small mica and red inclusions, and traces of white slip.