Lot Essay
According to Rota (op cit. p. 492) the popularity of the present work entitled La Danza di Zefiro e Flora was such that it was executed no less than five times by Benzoni. The scene depicted here is as recounted in Ovid's Fasti (5: 193-214). Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers was married to Zephyr, the West Wind of springtime. Here, in their dance, Zephyr is shown scattering a garden of flowers from a wicker cornucopiae behind them.