This modern name was given to the service of plates made by the Doccia Factory around 1880 - 1884 for King Umberto I of Savoy. Originally the service was made up of 300 plates, some of which are still preserved in the Quirinal Palace in Rome. The décor is naturalistic, featuring floral subjects and fluttering insects and birds. The elegant decorative techniques used are what render this service unique and make it so highly considered. The technique used is pâte sur pâte (decoration in relief, carried out by applying layers of slip, which are covered in liquid gold after the first firing; the entire piece is then fired again) brought to Doccia by a painter from the Limoges factory. After baking, the plate is finished off with an agate-tipped tool which bronzes the gold to bestow a chiaroscuro effect on the decoration.