Cleveland Museum of Art

Bella Donna Charger

Date

c. 1520–30

Medium

tin-glazed earthenware with yellow and blue lustre (maiolica)

Culture

Italy, Papal States, Deruta

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Ceremonial plates decorated with a bella donna (beautiful woman) feature half-length portraits of a young woman surrounded by scrolled banners. Many bella donna plates were informed by the frescos of Renaissance painters Pietro Perugino and Pinturicchio. Scholars believe that chargers such as these were given as marriage gifts or in memory of someone who had died.

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