In still another of Signorelli’s compositions[260] the archangel Michael stands on one side of the Madonna’s throne with his scales for the weighing of souls, and Gabriel upon the other side with a large stalk of lilies. The latter carries the lilies, not merely as his own attribute, to denote that he is Gabriel, but also in greeting to the Madonna, for in his other hand he holds a scroll with the words, ‘_Ave Maria, gratia plena_.’ There is a Madonna and Child by Fra Angelico,[261] where the Virgin, whose features are more strongly marked than is usual with the Master, holds in her right hand a vase in which are three roses and a stem of lilies. Her left arm is round the Child, whose little hand grasps a single lily cup. The composition is not pleasing, for the Mother is embarrassed and encumbered by the great vase; also the symbolism is not very clear, but apparently the roses and the lily in the vase are the attributes of Mary, while the flower in His hand refers to the Holy Child. There are very few flowers which are placed within the hand of the Madonna. In Italy she sometimes holds the _lilium candidum_ of the virgin saints in her character of Queen of Virgins. In Germany and the Tyrol the large white lily is replaced by the native lily-of-the-valley; and in the ‘Madonna with the Siskin’[262] of Albert Dürer she accepts some sprays of the sweet-scented white bells from the hand of the tiny Saint John. In many pictures she holds a rose. Apart from symbolism, a flower was a fitting thing to grace a woman’s hand, and the rose was considered the fairest of flowers. ‘As the rose is the flower of flowers, So is Thy House the House of Houses,’ says the ancient inscription within York Minster, and the rose was _the_ flower _par excellence_ in every European country. But when Mary places the rose within the hand of the Infant Saviour, then it becomes His attribute with the full significance of divine love, and when she places a carnation between the little fingers, divine love is again expressed. But, as already noticed, in pictures of Florentine origin, the rose in the Virgin’s hand has a special meaning, for it illustrates her title of ‘_Madonna del Fiori_,’ and the Cathedral of Florence was dedicated to ‘Our Lady of the Flower.’ Also in pictures painted for some charitable institution the rose or roses of the Virgin have still another meaning, for then, following the interpretation of Raban Maur, they are the symbol of charity. One picture with such roses is that painted by Giambono for the _Congregazione di Carità_ at Fano. That these roses are in no way the attribute of the Child is shown by His attitude, for His back is turned to the hand which holds the flowers.