Following the Chinese parallel, there are, as we have said, Chrysanthemo-Pæonian and Rose families, but no Green. The symbols, whether consisting of flowers or animals, are the best and safest indications of the origin of the piece. Many of the finest specimens belong to the Rose family, and it may as well be stated at the outset that, in spite of the most careful examination, it is sometimes impossible to ascribe its representatives to a certain origin, and to discriminate between the works belonging to China and those of Japan. It follows, that the finer pieces are at least equal to anything China has produced. The Japanese used to say that human bones formed one of the ingredients of the paste, and a meaning can easily be found for the phrase in the vast amount of labor demanded by its preparation. Specimens of the best qualities are as plentiful in Europe as in Japan: perhaps they may become more so, should the revival now expected not fulfil the hopes entertained regarding it. [Illustration: Fig. 137.--Owari Cloisonné Enamel. (Sutton Coll.)] [Illustration: Fig. 138.--Japanese Vase. White, Red, Rose, and Green. Blossoms on Left; White Enamel Raised. Height, 6½ in. (Robert H. Pruyn Coll.)] Jacquemart classes all the fine porcelain of Japan under the Rose family, to which would, therefore, belong the vase (Fig. 138) with white enamel decoration in relief. The subdivision of the family into vitreous and artistic porcelain, leads us to examine the grounds upon which it is made. The distinction between the two classes is based upon the styles of decoration. In both qualities the paste is very translucent, and the colors are pure and clear. The decoration of the vitreous is sparing, and of most careful execution, as though the artist were desirous of giving full effect to the natural beauty of the ware in its unadorned purity. Decorations of this kind gradually merge into more elaborate designs, in which flowers are strewn in careless grace over the opalescent paste, or animals are represented in gold and red. In the artistic porcelain the decoration partakes more of the Chinese intricacy and richness of color. Red, blue, green, yellow, and black mingle in scenes in which appear birds, figures, and flowers surrounded by deep and delicately shaded borders. It is inferred, from the gradually increasing elaboration of the designs, that the vitreous preceded the artistic, and that the latter, while tolerably distinct from the Chinese Rose, is the result of Chinese influence.