In addition to scenes from Scripture and classical mythology, there were ceramic objects decorated with more personal themes. Large plates bearing idealised images of named individuals, and embellished with delicate lustre decoration, undoubtedly had a predominantly decorative prurpose. The plate was designed to be suspended from a cord, passed through the pierced holes in the foot rim. Ceramics of this type have usually been understood as gifts relating to courtship and marriage. Conventional female heads on maiolica reflect the contemporary preoccupation with courtly behaviour, beauty and virtue. The idealised portraits are often personalised with the addition of the subject's name and particular personal effects.
Idealised female images like the one on this plate often bear a marked resemblance to the work of Perugino and Pinturicchio, both of whom were from Umbria - the region in which Deruta is located. The images were likely reproduced from a workshop's stock collection of designs and, given the formulaic nature of many of these busts (which were also used in representations of the Virgin and female allegorical figures), it seems probable that the Deruta workshops were able to produce these works at a fast pace. However, this is not to detract from their fineness and inherent beauty.
Deruta was well known for its mastery of the lustre technique and its production of impressive display plates. In this instance the border is decorated with gadroons, in imitation of metalwork design.