Commonly painted on sheet metal a portrait was fixed on the narrow end of the coffin where the legs of the deceased were. After the funeral ceremony, the portrait would often be hung on a church wall. This unique ritual played significant part in the ceremony known as Pompa Funebris. A coffin rested in church on a decorative catafalque called castrum doloris (Latin castle of grief) constructed especially for that purpose.  Having a portrait during the funeral ceremony symbolized the presence of the deceased among the mourners.