This panel is enriched with real gold and shows Saint Lawrence, a Christian deacon in 3rd-century Rome. He is holding his attributes – the objects that identify him. The palm frond tells us that he was a martyr, killed for his faith, and in his right hand is a gridiron, on which he is said to have been roasted alive.

We can tell from the size and shape of this panel that it once formed part of a large altarpiece of the type found in and around Siena in the late 14th century. The painting was given to the collection by Julius Lewis Lyons, who lent, donated and bequeathed many other valuable objects to Glasgow over the years, including silver, antiquities and Old Master drawings.