Plaquettes are small plaques or reliefs made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440ies 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 book-bindings. Plaquettes had a role in disseminating classical imagery and designs throughout Europe, in the same manner as the contemporary print. The subject matter was often a miniature composition, only rarely a single isolated figure.

This plaquette is made by Leone Leoni (ca.1509-1590), who was am Italian sculptor with international perspective. Upon others he was commissioned by the Habsburg monarch Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Spain's Philip II.
It is probable that Leone's formative years were spent with learning goldsmithing in Venice or Padua. After 1533 he is recorded with his wife and son in Venice and he later lived in Rome. In 1542 he moved to Milan, where his career as a coiner and medallist flourished. He went to Brussels to propose to Charles V to erect an equestrian portrait to the emperor in Milan. Charles V gave him a house in Milan and knighted him. After that he spent 7 years working on imperial commissions in Milan. The death of Charles V shifted his focus of patronage from Spain back to Italy, where Michelangelo recommended him to Pope Pius IV, who then commissioned him to erect a tomb for the Pope's brother Gian Giacomo de' Medici in the Milan Cathedral. Completed in 1563, this is one of his most important works.
He was also well known for his art collection, plastercasts, paintings and sculpture.