This section of a frieze shows conventional motifs of a cherub and of scrolling leaves, traditionally identified as the acanthus plant. The owls are an idiosyncratic additions and presumably would have a meaning in the original interior of which this formed part. The owl is often used as the emblem of the Roman goddes Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, or it may relate to one of the devices shown in the coat of arms of the family or organisation that commissioned the carving. The panel is one of hundreds of woodcarvings given to the Museum in 1921 by Sir Charles Allom head of the London decorating firm of White Allom & Co. The firm worked extensively in Britain and North America. The collection was made to serve for the education of designers and carvers in a firm that specialized in re-creating period interiors. It had probably beem designed in part as a teaching tool for Cedric Allom, Charles's son, but he was killed in the First World War.