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It probably isn't cursed, but every time you buy something with previous owners, such as something from an antique shop, you should cleanse it just in case. If there are bad energies attached to it, you don't want them around you. You should try smudging or chanting to cleanse the object of previous energies which may still linger.
I don't know what the carvings could be, but they probably encourage wisdom or praise deities as owls are often symbolic of wisdom or deities like Athena and Minerva.
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