A lustred dish depicting a bella donna, inscribed 'Pantasilea Bella'

Female profiles on painted pottery, often adjacent to inscribed scrolls with the words bella (beautiful), diva (divine), graziosa (charming), were extremely popular in Renaissance Italy. These so-called coppe amatorie (love dishes) also included the names of women and it is thought that such examples were given as gifts by suitors to their girlfriends. Although the profiles often give the impression of showing realistic facial features, the standardisation of these plates, where many with the same design survive with different names, illustrates that they were produced in large numbers during the period.