Saints can often be identified in religious paintings by their 'attribute', a symbolic object that has special reference to their life or manner of their death. In the Daddi tryptych the following saints surrounding the Virgin and Child can be identified:
St Elizabeth of Hungary: wears a crown, an allusion to her royal birth as princess of the Arpad dynasty of Hungary. She carries a dish of red roses (symbolising the blood of her martyrdom) and white roses (for her purity). According to legend her husband met her as she was carrying bread for the poor in her apron; when he opened her apron to discover what she was carrying, he only found roses.
St Lucy: holds her attribute of a burning oil lamp, which refers to her name that signifies 'light'. She was a 4th century martyr who suffered many tortures for refusing to disclaim she was a Christian. She is sometimes shown holding another special attribute, her eyes, which legend relates she plucked out and sent to her lover because he constantly praised their beauty.
