The hinge system used in the Daddi tabernacle, consisted of wooden dowels projecting into the wooden spiral columns from above and below. This allowed the wings, each one nailed to a column, to pivot around the dowels as they are opened and closed. Such a system enabled the wings to be attached to the central panel after they had been painted and gilded, increasing flexibility into the process by enabling different people to work concurrently on the independent sections, if so desired.
Many 13th and early 14th century tabernacle shutters were attached to the main panel by interlocking wire ring hinges, as can be see in Duccio's Crucifixion triptych (fig.1).
The means by which these interlocking wires were secured within the panel, meant that the wires between the wings and the central panel had to be interlocked and inserted into the wood before the surface was prepared with gesso. Hence the wings could not be worked on independently from the main panel, reducing flexibility in the work process and increasing the practical difficulties of painting, gilding and punching.
