Attributed to Benozzo Gozzoli
Around 1440–45
Egg tempera and gold leaf on wood
18.3 x 15.4 cm
The Virgin Mary and Christ Child sit on a wide throne and are surrounded by two saints: an unidentified pope and Saint Dominic, who holds a book and a lily. Seemingly plucked from the floral background, the pure white lily symbolises Dominic’s chastity.
Evidence of a hinge — now concealed by the frame — suggests that this work was once the left panel of a folding diptych, or pair of paintings.
Its size meant it could travel with its owner, who would have opened it like a book when praying.