A pair of Baroque putti from the 1600s, carved and lacquered wood, typical of Italian Baroque religious art. They are two angel figures with rounded bodies, rosy cheeks, and curly brown hair. They are arranged side by side in reclining or floating poses. One putto wears an ochre-yellow drape around his hips, while the other one has a dark green drape. Both putti have their arms and legs arched in dynamic poses. The surfaces show evident signs of aging, with small cracks in the polychrome paint, craquelure, widespread wear, and slight losses in the paint layer that reveal the underlying ground. Both are missing the wings that were actually present but were artificial and not original; indeed, the shoulder blades show no trace of the original attachment points, as they were secured with small nails. Both have beautiful glass eyes. The putto with the yellow drapery shows evidence of an old restoration near the right armpit. Both cherubs have visible damage to their fingers. Signs of wear consistent with their age of 17th century.
The difference between putti and cherubs can essentially be traced to their origins: secular and classical in the former case, sacred and biblical in the latter. The putto is almost always completely naked, often without wings or with butterfly- or bird-like wings, and is depicted engaged in playful activities, such as holding garlands or playing musical instruments in non-religious contexts, whereas the cherub is found exclusively in sacred art. It is often depicted as nothing more than a floating head surrounded by two or more wings, without a body, to emphasize its purely spiritual nature, devoid of earthly physicality.