St. Thomas Aquinas confounding Averroës, 1445–50 (tempera & gold leaf on panel)

St. Thomas Aquinas, the 13th century Christian philosopher, stands at a lectern flanked by christian thinkers discussing the sleeping Muslim philosopher Averroës (1126-98). By placing St. Thomas directly above the prone figure, the artist has symbolically elevated Aquinas's teachings over those of Averroës. Originally a cover for the treasury records of the city of Siena, this panel once included a lower half with the heraldic emblems of the treasury officers' families similar to the example illustrated here. The tops of some insignia are just visible along the panel's cut lower edge.