General Information:

This jar is decorated with three celestial beings. There is the blue beast, which represents the star Sirius, who is known as the Heavenly Wolf. There is the archer, Bow, who is the adjoining constellation. Lastly there is the White Tiger, who symbolizes the West. It’s said that the Heavenly Wolf resides over thieves and looters and represents the Huns. There are warnings that if the Wolf star were to change color then the land would be cursed with banditry and if the star were to move from its usual place then the Huns would be on a warpath. Luckily, there is Bow who’s arrow is forever pointed toward the wolf and will protect the Han people from evil. 

Eli’s Observations:

The images on the jar depict an intense series of events that can be seen in the stars. Even though blue is characteristically used to represent the Wolf, accents of blue can be seen throughout the whole piece. On the archer’s clothing there is blue and the lines that show the movements of these creatures are depicted as blue. Most of the original coloring is still on the jar, even though it’s probably not as vibrant as it was in the past. The pigment on the base of the jar seems to have worn away with time along with certain areas on the lid of the jar. The neck of the jar contains a very simple repeating pattern, mostly to not take away from the dynamic story being shown.