Predella
PREDELLA, the Italian word for a footstool or kneelingstool, hence applied to the step or platform on which an altar rests, and to a shelf raised above the altar at the back, a superaltar or gradino. The face both of the step and shelf are frequently decorated with sculpture or painting, and the term " predella " is frequently given to the sculpture or painting so used, and, further, to any painting that is a pendant to a larger work.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
