Plaquette

A plaquette (French: [plakɛt]; "small plaque") is a small low relief sculpture in bronze or other materials. These were popular in Italian Renaissance sculpture and later. 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.

Only one side is decorated, giving the main point of distinction with the artistic medal, where both sides are normally decorated. Most are rectangular or circular, but other shapes are found. 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. They "typically fit within the hand", as Grove puts it. At the smaller end they overlap with medals, and at the larger they begin to be called plaques. 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.

Plaquettes, like prints, played an important part in the diffusion of styles and trends in iconography, especially for classical subjects. Some drawings for plaquette designs survive; others copied prints, book illustrations and designs in other media, including classical engraved gems and sculpture. In Germany models in wood or limestone might be made. They were often made in sets, illustrating a story, or set of figures.