NARRATOR: At first glance, this authoritative looking figure seated in a massive throne may appear to be a King. In fact, this is probably an allegorical depiction of justice, personified here as King Solomon. Originally, his left hand held a scepter and his right gestured in judgment. Charles Little is a curator at the Museum.

CHARLES LITTLE: He has a type of a crown, which is not truly a crown, but a cap. And it’s a specific kind of a cap that can be associated with the judiciary, suggesting that this is an emblematic figure of a ruler functioning as a judge for a law court or a city gate or some kind of a secular setting.

NARRATOR: This figure would have served as a surrogate image of authority in a council chamber, law court, or city gate, where justice was often dispensed. Such a figure symbolically promotes justice—the highest political virtue according to Dante.

Conservator Jack Soultanian describes an interesting visual detail.

JACK SOULTANIAN: If we look at the sides of the throne on which the king sits, either side is fine, and we look at the arch. Just above the arch, just touching the corners of the windows we see an inscribed line. This inscribed line was made with a compass.