The bier and the pall spread over it are tilted towards the viewer with the lion supporting the head standing shorter, increasing the visibility of the effigy, especially the head. The gilded-bronze, life-size effigy itself makes no attempt to argue for Cossa's papal status, dressing Cossa clearly in the costume of a cardinal; the bedding it rests on is of un-gilt bronze. The opening in the 16th century of the sarcophagus confirmed that Cossa's actual burial clothes matched the effigy. There was no precedent for a three-dimensional gilded-bronze effigy on an Italian tomb monument; there was, however, a gilt bronze statue on the balcony of the Palazzo della Briada in Bologna commissioned by Pope Boniface VIII.