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The original purpose of this marble slab is still undecided. The Latin inscription on the round-arched niche (NULLUS MIRETUR UT HUIC CUR BENEDICTIO DETUR) alludes to the text of Isaac's blessing. The horizontal frame above and below bears the names of JACOB and ESAU, sons of Isaac, respectively. Clearly only one of these can refer to the standing figure clad in ecclesiastical vestments, his hands lifted in prayer in the pose known from Early Christian art. The carving may have adorned a portal with a series of figures placed above each other illustrating the story of Isaac's blessing. The portal is thought to have formed part of the rich twelfth century sculptural decoration of St. Peter's Cathedral built in Pécs after 1064. Originally, the lines engraved in the marble were probably filled with some other material of a different colour.
Although this is the only known encrusted figural fragment among the many carvings surviving from Pécs, the folds of the garment show a certain stylistic affinity with the representation of the apocalyptic figures of the elders which once ornamented the cathedral.
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