Fanelli's spirited group of Cupid borne on a galloping steed is recorded twice. Van der Doort included the model in his list of the sculptures in the Cabinet Room at Whitehall: "Item in brasse blackt over a little running horse- Cupid sitting on and another of...". Vertue also listed several sculptures by Fanelli at Welbeck: "...a Cupid on horseback...". The first Royal description appears to include a second figure and this may relate to the presence of a dog, as with the present bronze. A 'Cupid on Horseback' is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, but differs from the present example in several details. Principally, there is no barking dog, Cupid has wings, the tail lies flat against the horse's legs and the horse's head is turned firmly to the right. The present version is a more active and Baroque oeuvre; the flying tails of the horse and lion pelt add further movement, while the horse leaps higher to accommodate the dog below. The whole stands as a vigorous and charming cabinet bronze, a fine Caroline amalgam of naturalism and mythology.
For further details on the life of the artist, see the footnote to lot 154.