16 BULLETIN 139, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



be superseded. Spherical balls of metal with screw caps, late six- 

 teenth century Enghsh, used as hand warmers, are examples of hot- 

 water containers, as are the basins ornamented with heads dug up at 

 Chester and dating from the Roman period in Britain.*^ 



Many varieties of the hot-water containers have been developed. 

 As novelties in the English potters' exhibition at the Philadelphia 

 Centennial in 1876 were foot-shaped vessels for hot water intended 

 for placing in boots for drying them, and concavo-convex vessels for 

 appljdng heat to the abdominal region. The Museum has a rare pot- 

 tery hot-water bottle (pi. 3, fig. 1) with formed depressions for the feet 

 of a lady. This vessel is of glazed Binghamton earthenware and dates 

 about 1840. Several varieties of hand stoves are found in eastern 

 Asia. They are usually of brass or copper, and consist of a small 

 rectangular box with perforated lid like an incense burner, and have 

 a handle. They are often quite artistic pieces of workmanship (pi. 

 4, fig. 1). Sven Hedin found this variety of heating device at Lan 

 Chow, western China, and says: "Among other things I bought sha- 

 hs, or hand stoves, shaped like teapots but with grated lids. You 

 fill them with ashes, and put two or three pieces of red-hot charcoal 

 in the middle of the ashes. The sha-lo will then keep warm for a 

 good 24 hours."** 



The Japanese pocket stove, or belly stove, as it is called, is much 

 in advance of the examples previously described in that it employs a 

 specially prepared fuel whose origin is probably in ancient experi- 

 ments to produce a slow match for preserving fire for a long time. 

 The pocket stove is a box of copper or tin slightly curved to fit the 

 wearer, and with perforated sliding lid. Paper cartridges filled with 

 powdered charcoal of a specified kind are placed in the box, lighted at 

 one end, and the Ud closed. One charge gives out a gentle heat for 

 four hours. Such stoves are cheap, useful, and eflScient. Another 

 form widely spread is a small vessel with handle, in which a char- 

 coal fire is carried about and used to warm the feet and hands. Per- 

 haps the more familiar example of this personal stove is the scaldino 

 of Italy, possibly of quite ancient origin (pi. 3, fig. 2). These little 

 stoves are made of bronze and terra cotta, vase shape, with lid. Some- 

 times they are real works of art, designed for use by the elite. In 

 Cliina such stoves consist of a pottery bowl neatly incased in bamboo 

 basketry. The Chinese bamboo portable stove has a base of suffi- 

 cient diameter to prevent tipping over and is carried by a handle, 

 (pi. 3, figs. 3, 4). A simihar vessel, called Kangri, is used during cold 

 weather at Srinagar, Kashmir. The fire bowl is incased in elaborately 

 woven osier over plates of mica. On top is a yoke-shape frame with 



«5 L. M. Solon. The Art of the Old English Potter, Derby, 1885, p. 16. 

 « Sven Hedin. Through Asia, vol. 2, 1889, p. 1205. 



