HOLMES] TERRA COTTA GROUP OF WARE. 71 



ment otherwise being uniform with the preceding. We notice in 

 these vessels a decided tendency towards complexity of outline. 

 Tliree examples, shown in Fig. 7ii. have a two storied character, the 



Fig. 78. Vases with flariug rims and varied 



upper part possibly being the outgrowth of the collar ornament seen 

 in so many cases. The large specimen in the center is a handsome 



nplex outlines and i 



piece with square offset at the shoulder and a decidedly conical base. 

 A chaste ornament in relief encircles the neck and two grotesque fig- 

 ures ail' seated upon opposite sides of the shoulder. The vase at the 

 left lias twii orifices, set wide aj^art. The body is oblong and slightly 

 fiatteiied aliDve. There are a number of vessels of this conformation 

 in the collection, some of which have the mouths so close together 

 that the margins or lips coalesce in part. A superb specimen of this 

 class is illustrated in Fig. 80. The shape is thoroughly satisfactory 

 to the eye, having a refinement of line rarely attained in native 

 American work. Its symmetry suggests the use of the wheel, b\it 

 the closest examination fails to detect a trace of mechanical appli- 

 ance, save that left by the polishing stone. The decoration is simple 

 and efl'ective, consisting of minute nodes with annular indentations 

 about the necks and of two grotesque figures, placed with consum- 

 mate taste in the angles formed by the contact of the two necks. 

 A very small percentage of these vessels possess true handles, but 



