We should mention also among miscellaneous objects the beautiful hanging lanterns of eggshell thinness or perforated in openwork patterns; the barrel-shaped garden seats; the curious hat stands, a sphere on top of a tall stem or a little box mounted on long curved legs, the top in either case being hollow and perforated to hold perfumes or ice or charcoal according to the season; boxes of all kinds; small personal ornaments such as hair-pins, ear-rings, girdle-clasps, rosary beads, thumb rings, fingernail covers, tubes for mandarin feathers, buttons and pendants; the little bottles or flasks originally intended for drugs but afterwards consecrated to snuff when the Spaniards or Portuguese had introduced the tobacco plant into China at the end of the sixteenth century; and finally the ornamental heads of opium pipes made chiefly in pottery. For household use the _T’ao shuo_ enumerates rice spoons, tea spoons (_ch’a shih_), sets of chop sticks, vessels for holding candle snuffs, wax pots, vinegar droppers, washing basins (_tsao p’ên_), pricket candle sticks (_têng ting_), pillows (_chên_), square and round, tubs (_p’ên ang_), jars (_wêng_) with small mouth, alms bowls (_po_) with globular body and contracted mouth, plates (_tieh_), and bowls (_wan_); and for tea and wine parties and dinner services, tea pots, wine vessels, bowls, and dishes of every sort. Bowls (wan) are found in many sizes and shapes, the commonest being the small rice bowl; the shallower type was used for soup (_t’ang wan_). There are deep bowls with covers which might almost be described as jars, and there are tea bowls with covers used for infusing tea in the absence of a tea pot. In drinking from these it was usual to tilt the cover very slightly so as to leave only a narrow egress for the tea and to prevent the leaves accompanying it. When a tea pot was used, the liquid was served in a tea cup (_ch’a chung_) of tall upright form without handle[492] or cover. The Chinese cup is not furnished with a saucer in European style, but there are straight-edged trays which serve a similar purpose, holding one or more cups, and the old tea bowls and wine cups used to be provided with a circular stand with hollow ring in which the base of the cup could be inserted. The tea pot itself does not seem to be older than the Ming dynasty, and before that time tea bowls only had been used, the vessels with spouts and handles being reserved for wine and other liquids.