In the early part of the fifteenth century and during the whole of the century the furniture of Europe generally was designed more or less on Gothic lines, but gradually the new forms that were now rapidly developing in the architecture of the Renaissance, but in a slower measure, began to assert themselves in furniture designs. Consequently, we find in many articles, such as armoires or presses, and cabinets, a mixture of style in the design—as, for instance, the upper panels would be in the Mediæval, and the lower ones in the Renaissance style, or the general construction would be Gothic, and the details and decoration would be Italian. This was more often the case in the furniture and other art in Germany, where the Renaissance was tardily welcomed. Styles of design in furniture overlap each other so much, especially in the Renaissance period, that it becomes very difficult to assign a correct date to many pieces of important work. Gothic designs continued to be used during the sixteenth century, although the Renaissance had been developing for a hundred years earlier. The most authentic means of fixing the date is when certain work can be proved to have come from the hand of a particular artist, or when there is a record of its having been made for a king or some great person, for the style is not always a sure proof of the correct date. In the “Quattrocento” period (1400-1500), or fifteenth century, Italian furniture made for churches, palaces, or private houses, was usually decorated with paintings, sometimes on a gilt ground, which was prepared in a gesso material before the gold was applied, some parts of which had relief ornamentation. Reliquaries, altar-fronts, panels of cabinets, chests, and marriage coffers were decorated in this way. [Illustration: Fig. 233.—Marriage Coffer of Carved Wood; Italian; Sixteenth Century. (J.)] The work known as “tarsia,” or certosina work, was made in great perfection about this time in Italy. It is inlaid work of a geometric character in design, or is composed of floral ornament, and sometimes consists of representations of landscapes and buildings. This kind of inlay was derived from Persian sources, was developed chiefly by the Venetians, and was used mostly by them in the decoration of choir stalls, tables, chairs, cabinets, &c. Ebony, ivory, and metals were also employed in the Italian inlays of this period.