As recounted by Ovid in Metamorphoses 1:639-721 Io, a princess of Argos and the lover of Jupiter, was turned into a white hiefer by the god in order to hide her from his jealous wife. However, the plan was foiled whewn Juno cunningly asked for the animal as a gift, a request Jupiter could not refuse. Juno placed her rival under the watchful gaze of Argus, the hundred-eyed giant. Mercury was sent by Jupiter to reclaim Io and to kill her guard, which he did by first lulling the giant to sleep and then decapitating him. Mercury then placed his many eyes in the tail of Juno's peacock.

Cf. Rome, Palazzo Venezia, Le antiche maioliche di Castelli d'Abruzzo, 1968-1969, p. 32 for another dish based on the same print source.

Sold with thermoluminescence certificate ?? dated ?? from the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University, stating that the sample tested was last fired between???