A dish on a low foot with a female portrait inscribed 'Portia Bela'. The portrait here is painted in blue, yellow, brown and green on a dark blue ground, and covered with a high sheen glaze. These portrait dishes were often termed coppa amatoria which means gifts of love, given by men to the women they loved. They were very popular in the Renaissance, and a good number of examples survive today. It is sensible to assume that the portrait was of the man's beloved, but when a more classical name was inscribed on the ribbon, it may actually refer to a classical literary figure, rather than a contemporary sweetheart.