I must not close this section without referring to some fine vases that belong apparently to this group and which were collected by De Zeltner and illustrated by photographs accompanying his pamphlet. They are now, I believe, in the possession of Prof. O. C. Marsh. The sketches given herewith are copied from De Zeltner’s photographs and are probably somewhat defective in details of drawing. The piece illustrated in Fig. 213 is not described by the author, but is evidently a handsome vessel and is decorated in a very simple manner. A band of devices symbolizing the body of an animal encircles the middle portion of the vase. The height is about a foot. [Illustration: Fig. 214. Vase with extraordinary decorative designs. From De Zeltner--about ¼.] A second piece (Fig. 214), of which two views are given by the same author, corresponds closely in many respects with the vase illustrated in Fig. 211 and is described in the following language: My collection includes a cup (or chalice) of baked clay 25 centimeters in diameter, mounted on a hollow stand which gives it a height of 18 centimeters, and the designs of which are very rich and in perfect taste. The base is hollow and colored red, white, black, and purple; it has four narrow openings or slits, and the design represents plaits spirally arranged. The under side of the cup is divided into four compartments, each of which incloses a dragon painted in black and red on a white ground; the borders are sometimes red, sometimes purple. The body of the dragon might have been painted in China, so neat and intricate is the drawing. The design upon the inside of the cup seems to resemble Egyptian art. The body of a man is seen, painted in red, the arms and legs separated, and the shoulders bearing the head of the dragon with teeth and crest. The color is similar to the rest of the piece--purple, white, and black. The intermediate spaces are filled with very intricate designs. This extraordinary design is shown in Fig. 215, and it will be seen that it agrees in many respects with figures presented in the lost color and alligator groups. It is compound in character, however, the head referring to the alligator, the body and extremities perhaps to a man or to a monkey. The suggestion of the oriental dragon in this, as in other examples, is at once apparent, and the resemblance to certain conventional forms that come down to us from the earliest known period of Chinese art is truly remarkable. We cannot, of course, predicate identity of origin even upon absolute identity of appearances, but such correspondences are worthy of note, as they may in time accumulate to such an extent that the belief in a common origin will force itself upon us. [Illustration: Fig. 215. Painted design of vase in Fig. 214, viewed from above, thought to represent a dragon by De Zeltner; probably a composite of the alligator and the monkey or man.]