The Fourth Hour of the Night has more in common with conventional images of Nyx than do her other nocturnal sisters: both are veiled; both are accompanied by an owl. But while Nyx, with her wreath of poppies, is usually shown nodding in sleep, this Hour is wide awake, securing her veil, perhaps against the winds of night, with one hand, while cradling an owl, also now alert and looking about, in the crook of her other arm. The owl on the hand of First Hour of the Night has not yet roused itself for its nighttime labors.
This Hour does not appear quite so frequently as some of the others. When she does, the owl is frequently missing or indistinct.
This holds true even for this version in pietra dura and the Meissen vase, companion to the one ornamented with the Third Hour of the Day.
Although the more modern composition to the left is very different in most ways, it clearly owes a debt to the Fourth Hour of the Night.
