Plaquettes are small plaques made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440s with the desire to reproduce coins and hardstone engravings from ancient Greece and Rome. Some were made as collector’s pieces, to be viewed and displayed in private, and others for practical purposes. They also inspired designs in other media, from architecture to bookbindings. Several examples of this relief survive. The design resembles an engraving of the same subject by Girolamo Mocetto, an artist who was contemporary to Riccio. It is not clear whether the engraving is the source of the relief, or whether both derive from a classical origin.