Another product of Satsuma is called “difficult ware,” from the extreme nicety of the operation performed in making it. In this the body is coarser than in that last mentioned. The ground is similarly prepared, and upon it are laid in relief flowers and birds of fine porcellaneous paste. The technical difficulties attending the production of such ware are obvious. By what ingenuity does the Japanese artist overcome the difference between decorating material and body? A precisely similar style of decoration is employed on many household vessels of earthen-ware or majolica. In these very fine effects are secured by the choice of a sombre ground, from which the porcelain flowers and animals stand out in clear and bold relief. The best Satsuma ware and crackle are perfect marvels of color. The decoration bears a general resemblance to that already described, but is finer. The cracks are scarcely visible, the gold is more cloud-like and fleeting, and the floral ornamentation is more tropically luxuriant. In the higher qualities of crackle, the paste and glaze differ widely in composition, in order that deeper and more distinct cracks may be produced; and tangled in the web are wreaths of green, purple, crimson, and blue flowers mingled with gold. A totally different style of decoration is seen on many cylindrical vases, and shows that the Japanese artists have a clear perception of the subtle harmony existing between form and ornament. In these, to be in sympathy with the simple shape, the designs are bolder, and the colors are laid on with a freer hand. [Illustration: Fig. 119.--Satsuma Vase. Height, 7½ in. (J. W. Paige Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]