Cover of an account book of the Sienese tax authorities with the portrait of the treasurer

Rinaldo da Siena's painted cover for an account book of the Sienese tax authorities is a rare example of secular Gothic painting serving a civic administrative function. Depicting the portrait of the treasurer, this work demonstrates how Italian communes employed professional painters to decorate official documents and covers, known as biccherne or tavolette di Biccherna. These painted covers constitute one of the earliest traditions of civic portraiture in European art and provide invaluable records of Sienese public life.

Executed in egg tempera on a wooden panel cover, the painting combines a portrait figure with heraldic and inscriptional elements. The style reflects Sienese Duecento conventions with firm outlines, flat gold or colored backgrounds, and the stylized figural idiom of the local painting tradition.