Each is seated on a flower encrusted mound, the female, with suckling pup, her head turned to the right, with fur picked out in grey and wearing a puce collar tied at the back with a large bow decorated with gilt scrollwork and three applied gilt bells. The male, with similar decoration, wears a plain gilt-edged puce collar. The mark of crossed swords in underglaze blue appears on the edge of the base, 15.7cm.
The 1763 Burghley Inventory records: “the Japan closet…two pug dogs…Dresden”
The 1867 Burghley Inventory records: “Blue Drawing room…a pair of Dresden china pug dogs.”
