INCENSE CUPS. 83 



conjecture to recommend it, that it is not worthy of any serious 

 consideration. Indeed no part of the body except bone could be, 

 recovered after the burning 1 , and as a rule no remains of bone are 

 found in these vessels, unless it has got in accidentally from their 

 having- been placed amongst the deposit. 



The explanation of Mr. Stanley and Mr. Albert Way appears to 

 me to possess, upon the whole, the best claims to acceptance ; and 

 until some more likely one is suggested, or some facts come to light 

 which render it untenable, I feel inclined to adopt it, as, at all 

 events, a provisional explanation of the purpose of these enigmatical 

 vessels. The burning of the dead was certainly not practised 

 merely to dispose of the body, but was a custom which had more 

 or less of a religious character about it. The rite, doubtless, was 

 gone through with some degree of form and solemn observance. 

 The application of fire to the body, to a greater or less extent, 

 appears to have been universal, and shows what a deep significancy 

 there was in it with reference to the dead. It is therefore not an 

 unnatural supposition that the fire which was to consume the body 

 should be brought to the pile with a certain amount of ceremony, 

 and that it might have been taken there from the place where it 

 had been kindled in accordance with some especial usage 1 . The 

 fact that 'incense cups' are always associated with burials after 

 cremation, brings them into intimate connection with the burning 

 of the body, and perhaps may be considered to favour the view 

 which regards them as the means of conveying the fire to kindle 

 the funeral pile. Neither the form nor the peculiarity of the holes 

 and piercings is inconsistent with this explanation of their use. 

 Their size is what we might expect to find in vessels made for the 

 purpose of carrying a piece of ignited touchwood or other suitable 

 material, and the holes and piercings are not ill adapted for keeping 

 it, by means of a draught, in a state of ignition. 



The vases to which the name of ' Food Vessel ' has been applied 

 are found associated both with burnt and unburnt bodies, though 



1 The account of the funeral of Narayan Wasudeo, a member of the Legislative 

 Council of Bombay, contains a very interesting record of such a practice as it has 

 been supposed was current in Britain. ' The sacred fire, which had been kindled with 

 due ceremonies at the house, was carried in front in a brazen vessel by the deceased's 

 son. . . . While this (the making of the funeral pile) was being done, a number of 

 torches of sandal wood were being carefully ignited by the son of the deceased at the 



sacred fire, which he had brought with him for the purpose The friends applied 



matches to the sandal-wood brands and, when they blazed up, set fire to the com- 

 bustibles.' Times of India, Sept. 1, 1874. 



