[365] BIRCH, _Ancient Pottery_, p. 37. [366] BIRCH, _Ancient Pottery_, Figs. 23 and 25. [Illustration: FIG. 291.--Pitcher of red earth. British Museum.] [Illustration: FIG. 292.--Red earthenware. British Museum.] Another kind of pottery, that known as _Egyptian porcelain_, must be noticed in greater detail. This designation is inexact. The proper name would be _Egyptian faience_. It consists of white sand, gently fused, and overspread with a glaze of coloured enamel. This enamel is composed of flint and soda, with the addition of a colouring matter. This faience has been fired with such care that it is able to support the high temperature of a porcelain kiln without damage. Vases of many different kinds, enamelled tiles, statuettes (Fig. 294), sepulchral _figurines_ (Figs. 96 and 97, Vol. I.), neck ornaments and other articles for decorating the person, amulets (Fig. 295), scarabs, rings, and many other articles were made in this material. Vases were generally either blue or apple green. A very small number of them were ornamented with figures of men or animals, always treated in a purely decorative fashion. No vase has yet been discovered with any attempt to portray an incident upon it. The figures are never united by a subject. Bouquets of lotus around some central motive are of most frequent occurrence (Fig. 296). Sometimes these flowers are combined with mystic symbols, like the eyes in Fig. 297. These designs, which are in black, are produced by inlaying coloured enamel. [Illustration: FIG. 293.--Gray earthenware. Boulak.] [Illustration: FIG. 294.--The God Bes. Enamelled earthenware.] Two of the vases which we reproduce (Figs. 296 and 297) are similar to those shown in the bas-reliefs, in scenes of libation to the gods or to the dead. Their form is that of the Greek φιάλη and the Latin _patera_. Numerous bottles have also been found whose general shape exactly resemble that of the Greek ἀρύβαλλος (Fig. 298).