HOLMES. ] 



VESSELS OF ECCENTRIC FORM. 



403 



Eccentric forms. — A form of vessel of which civilized men make pecu- 

 liar use is depicted in Fig. 413. There is a marked resemblance to a 

 common teapot. A very few examples have been found, two of which 

 are illustrated in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnol- 

 ogy. The specimen here given is well made and carefully finished. 



Fig. 413. — Teapot-shaped vessel: Arkansas. — $. 



The neck is Low and wide, and the body is a compressed sphere. The 

 spout is placed upon one side and a low knob upon the other. The ab- 

 sence of a handle for grasping indicates that the vessel was probably 

 not intended for boiling water. These characters are uniform in all the 

 specimens that have come to my notice. Two small circular depres- 



Fig. 414. — Vessel of eccentric form: Arkansas. — \. 



sions occur on the sides of the vessel alternating with the spout and 

 the knob and with these features form centers for four rosettes of in- 

 volute incised lines. The origin of this form of vessel is suggested by 

 a fine red piece from " Mississippi," now in the national collection. The 

 knob is the head of a turtle or other full-bodied reptile, and the spout 

 takes the place of the creature's tail. Many of the animal shaped 

 vases would resemble this form closely if an opening were made through 

 the top of the body and through the tail. 



In connection with the teapot-like vessels it will be well to describe 

 another novel form not wholly unlike them in appearance, an example 



