Lot Essay
Ananoff related this to the putto, in reverse, in The Toilet of Venus of circa 1743 formerly in the collection of Alfred de Rothschild. Alastair Laing, who kindly confirms the attribution, suggests it is closer in pose and date to Cupid offering an Apple to Venus with an added date of 1754 in the Wallace Collection, London. The Wallace Collection picture is not universally accepted as the original