The material used to make this bowl is known in Italy as maiolica. It is earthenware with a thick, opaque white surface called tin glaze. Maiolica was one of the first ceramics to be used specifically as a vehicle for painted decoration, either in lustre or in painted enamels.As a branch of pottery manufacture, maiolica was established in the northern half of Italy by the mid-15th century when the pots were often decorated with bold patterns in green and purple. Maiolica was a very fashionable material in Renaissance Italy. Large services of plates and dishes like this were ordered by aristocratic families, and boldly decorated with the family's coat of arms. The subtle pale and deep blue palette with which this dish is painted was known as berettino, a speciality of the area around Faenza in the 1520s and '30s.