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This detail shows St Catherine of Alexandria at the left side of the Maestà. As a princess, the saint wears a golden crown. The martyr's palm branch is a symbol of the martyrdom she suffered under the Roman Emperor, Maxentius, in the 4th century AD.
The circular halo was incised with a pair of compasses. Embossing tools were used to etch the pattern into the gilded surface. These tools were rested vertically on the pictorial surface, then lightly tapped with a hammer. Since the plaster ground is flexible, the gold leaf did not tear.
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