The two marble architectural elements at the entrance to the room are, like all the artifacts on display here, fragments of the Cathedral’s original medieval façade, begun by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296, left unfinished in the fifteenth century, and ultimately demolished in 1587.

They are two jambs, presumably from one of the three portals—possibly the central one—discovered by architect Emilio De Fabris in 1871 during the preparatory work for the new façade decoration.

Carved from white marble, the pillars feature geometric patterns inspired by classical architecture, interspersed with vegetal motifs such as acanthus leaves and oak branches with acorns.

Scholars unanimously attribute them to the earliest phase of construction, that is, to the workshop of Arnolfo di Cambio, and date them to around 1296–1310.