In the late fourteenth century the Italians commenced an entirely original style of carving on narrow strips of bone. The figures with the scenic accessories are closely related to the early schools of painting. These sculptures, unlike the unmixed ivory of the French carvings, were always framed in narrow intarsia borders. Small triptychs (Fig. 37) developed into enormous size, as the great altar-piece in the old Sacristy at the Certosa at Pavia and the famous _retable_ in the Louvre, which comes from the abbey of Poissy, and was the gift of the Due de Berri, brother of Charles V., and one of the regents for the young Charles VI. in 1380. It contains his portrait and that of his wife, Jehanne de Bourgogne. The fragments of a third large _retable_ still exist, divided between the John Rylands Library at Manchester and the Victoria and Albert Museum. These _retables_ are large in size, but not great in design, and though the groups of figures are lovely in detail, they are not impressive as a whole, the low relief giving little scope for the play of light and shade. There are many beautiful polygonal caskets with domed covers, also combs and other small articles, and a very excellent account of the whole series has been given by Julius v. Schlosser in the _Wiener Jahrbuch_ for 1900. [Illustration: [VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON LOAN COLLECTION HON. A. BERESFORD-HOPE, M.P. 37. TRIPTYCH IN CARVED BONE Italian, early fifteenth century] This short account of the Ivory Workers of the Middle Ages commenced with Italy in the last years of the fourth century, and, having made the round of Europe, returns to her after a thousand years, at the end of the fourteenth century, and must close, just at the outgoing of the mediæval era, with this magnificent group of carvings, which lies half across the border line of the early and true Renascimento. FOOTNOTES: [22] See an article on Croziers by Cahier and Martin, _Mélanges d’Archéologie_, t. iv. [23] See an article by Barbier de Montault, _Revue de l’Art Chrétien_, 1883, p. 157. [24] The Angel belongs to M. G. Chalandon and the Virgin to M. P. Garnier. LIST OF DIPTYCHS FROM MOLINIER CONSULAR 1. About 400. [Probably] STILICHO. _a._ Stilicho, standing, armed, bearded. _b._ Serena and little Eucherius, standing. _Tesorio della Basilica, Monza._ 2. 406. PROBUS. Rome. _a._ Emperor Honorius, standing, armed, with standard and orb. _b._ Emperor Honorius, standing, armed, with shield and spear. _Cathedral Treasury, Aosta._ 3. 428. FELIX. Rome. _a._ Standing in trabea, bearded. _b._ Standing in chlamys. _Bibliothèque nationale, Paris._