From Japan as well as China we get many fine temple sets. Whence come they? some may ask. Perhaps they have been discarded because they have been replaced with newer or more elaborate ornaments, although they may have been obtained through the cupidity of some of the temple attendants. From whatever sources they came there are numerous examples in the London curio-shops and in our museums. The crane and tortoise have long been held in veneration in Japan. The tortoise especially is frequently found on old Chinese pottery and metal-work, as well as being fashioned in Corea and Japan. In Fig. 74 there is a Japanese pricket candlestick, in the form of a crane and tortoise, of eighteenth-century workmanship, and it evidently formed one of a set of five altar pieces. Some of the altar sets gave special prominence to two flower vases as part of the set, of somewhat later style of decoration to Fig. 90; it was probably made early in the nineteenth century. This vase was formerly used in a set in which a figure of Buddha occupied the centre. It was a common practice to hang over the Buddhist altars lamps, many of which are to be seen in our museums. In Fig. 75 is shown a Japanese ritual vase, intended for wine (_hu_); it is of square shape, with cover of Kwei and dragon pattern, animal feet and bosses on the shoulders, and bird-shaped arris on the lid, the inside of which is inscribed with twelve characters; the patina of this vessel ranges from deep brown to bright malachite-green. Fig. 76 is a smaller ritual vessel, with two handles at the shoulder and one meander band and knob. The vase shown in Fig. 77, with dragon handles, a beautifully patinated specimen, shading from brown to red with green accretions, is a ritual _tsui_ or vase for offering corn. These remarkable relics formed part of a large collection dispersed recently at a well-known London salesroom. Now and then less important pieces come under the hammer, and it is by no means difficult to secure for a small outlay an excellent representative collection of these deeply interesting objects associated with idol worship. XV NATIVE METAL-WORK CHAPTER XV NATIVE METAL-WORK Outside influences--Benin bronzes--Other African curios.