Venus, the Roman goddess of love and her son Cupid, have been popular subjects in Western art for many centuries.
Diverse artists have depicted scenes from their lives and aspects of their complex relationship.
This charming, playful and sophisticated group presents Cupid, with his symbolic bow, and a classically robed Venus, almost as a mother restraining her energetic and mischievous offspring, 17.8cm.
The figure is typical of the Derby output from about 1756, when figure modelling increasingly adopted the style of Meissen, under the direction of William Duesbury.
