Iulia Bella plate

With the start of the Renaissance, Faenza maiolica works definitively abandoned Gothic and Oriental decorative motifs to emphasise the human figure and in particular “beautiful” women. The ladies depicted on maiolica were new brides, portrayed on commission by their beloved to celebrate their marriage union and their moral virtues. In this amatory style, the plate shows a bust of a woman in profile with the typical hairstyle of the period with her hair gathered in a bun on her forehead; the woman is wearing a rich damask dress with a wide neckline. In the backgroung there is a scroll with the inscription “IVLIA BELA” (Beautiful Giulia).