and later it developed a legendary character. Fragments of it were said to dazzle the eyes, and when worn on armour to turn aside missiles in battle.[83] [Illustration: Fig. 2 Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Plate 12.--T´ang Pottery with green glaze. Fig. 1.--Bottle with impressed key-fret. Height 7½ inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ Fig. 2.--Ewer with incised foliage scrolls. Height 4¼ inches. _Alexander Collection._ Fig. 3.--Vase with foliage scrolls, painted in black under the glaze, incised border on the shoulder. Height 4¼ inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._] [Illustration: Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Plate 13.--T´ang Pottery. Fig. 1.--Pilgrim Bottle with lily palmette and raised rosettes, green glaze. Height 7½ inches. _Koechlin Collection._ Fig. 2.--Pilgrim Bottle (neck wanting), Hellenistic figures of piping boy and dancing girl in relief among floral scrolls, brownish green glaze. Height 8½ inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._] [Illustration: Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 2 Plate 14.--T´ang Wares. Fig. 1.--Incense Vase, lotus-shaped, with lion on the cover, hexagonal stand with moulded ornament; green, yellow and brown glazes. Height 19¾ inches. _Rothenstein Collection._ Fig. 2.--Sepulchral Amphora, hard white ware with greenish white glaze, serpent handles. Height 19¼ inches. _Schneider Collection._ Fig. 3.--Ewer with large foliage and lotus border in carved relief, green glaze. Height 6½ inches. _Koechlin Collection._ Fig. 4.--Sepulchral Vase, grey stoneware with opaque greenish grey glaze. Incised scrolls on the body, applied reliefs of dragons, figures, etc., on neck and shoulder. (?) T´ang. Height 20 inches. _Benson Collection._] Chinese writers have been troubled by the apparent inconsistency of the descriptions, "thin as paper" and "having coarse yellow clay on the foot." The latter may, however, merely refer to patches of coarse clay or sand which had served to support the ware in the kiln, and which had partially adhered to the base, a thing not uncommon in the earlier manufactures. The expression has, however, led some later writers[84] to identify the Ch´ai ware with a fairly well-known type of comparatively soft buff pottery, coated with a luscious turquoise or pale lavender blue glaze, which we shall have occasion to discuss later.[85] Needless to say, there is no probability of this type being the real Ch´ai. Its comparative commonness alone puts the supposition out of court, but the suggestion serves to show that some Chinese thinkers, at any rate, see the Ch´ai colour in just such glazes as the pale lavender blue of Plate 88, Fig. 2, which undoubtedly satisfies in many respects the description "blue of the sky after rain."