Plaquettes, like prints, played an important part in the diffusion of styles and trends in iconography, especially for classical subjects. German 17th-century plaquettes were still being used as models for silverware in Regency London. The moulds were also sometimes re-used at considerable distances from their time and place of creation, or new moulds were made from a plaquette. The same factors, combined with their modern display behind glass, make them relatively little appreciated today. They were relatively cheap and transportable, and were soon disseminated widely across Europe, offering an opportunity for artists to display their virtuosity and sophistication, and promote themselves beyond their own city. The artists who made them tended to be either sculptors in bronze, also making small figures and objects such as inkwells, or goldsmiths, who often practised in the related field of engraving. They were one of the types of objects often found in the – normally male – environment of the studiolo and cabinet of curiosities, along with other small forms such as classical coins and engraved gems. The difficulty of reading the scenes, and an often obscure choice of subjects, suggest that a self-conscious display of classical learning was part of their appeal, for collectors and artists alike. They are best appreciated when held in the hand near a good light source, and were probably passed round when a collection was shown to fellow connoisseurs. Plaquettes were also collected, and in particular 16th-century examples are often crowded with figures, making the scenes hard to read. Moderno, The Continence of Scipio, c 1500–1510, 5.8 x 7.5 cm Plaquette bindings are leather bookbindings that incorporate plaquette casts in gesso, often of designs that are also found in metal. A large part of the market was probably other artists and craftsmen looking for models for other forms. Devotional images were probably often carried around in a pocket, a habit that became common with crucifixes in Florence after a plague in 1373. Others were framed for hanging, but many were probably just kept and displayed loose, perhaps propped up on a shelf or desk, or in drawers or boxes. Some shapes were designed for particular roles such as decorating sword hilts, though perhaps not all copies made were used in this way. Religious subjects in a pair or set might be set into the doors of tabernacles, and many were used for paxes, sometimes after being given a frame. Other copies have three or four holes, for holding in a setting. Some were mounted in furniture, boxes or other objects such as lamps, and many examples have holes for hanging on walls, added later. The purpose and use of decorative plaquettes was evidently varied and remains somewhat unclear their creation and use is relatively poorly documented. They have always been closely related to the medal, and many awards today are in the form of plaquettes, but plaquettes were less restricted in their subject-matter than the medal, and allowed the artist more freedom. The form continued to be made at a low level, with something of a revival from about 1850. By about 1550 it had fallen from fashion in Italy, but French plaquettes were entering their best period, and there and in Germany they continued to be popular into the 17th century. The form began in the 1440s in Italy, but spread across Europe in the next century, especially to France, Germany and the Low Countries. At the smaller end they overlap with medals, and at the larger they begin to be called plaques. They "typically fit within the hand", as Grove puts it. Typical sizes range from about two inches up to about seven across a side, or as the diameter, with the smaller end or middle of that range more common. Most are rectangular or circular, but other shapes are found, as in the example illustrated.
Only one side is decorated, giving the main point of distinction with the artistic medal, where both sides are normally decorated. They may be commemorative, but especially in the Renaissance and Mannerist periods were often made for purely decorative purposes, with often crowded scenes from religious, historical or mythological sources. These were popular in the Italian Renaissance and later. Peter Flötner, Vanitas, 1535–1540, gilt bronzeĪ plaquette ( French pronunciation: , small plaque) is a small low relief sculpture in bronze or other materials.
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