Venus and Mercury

Horizontal relief with the central figure of the reclining goddess Venus, upper body bare, who, with the help of four putti on the right, wraps herself in (or removes) a drapery. To her left, seated in profile, is the god Mercury, accompanied by two putti. One of them holds the god's wing, the other putto carries Mercury's staff in his fist. In the foreground, between the two gods, two putti are in conversation: the right one pulls an arrow from a quiver, the left one holds a large hollow shell. The entire scene alludes to the love story of Venus and Mercury, but the iconography is (consciously?) ambiguous: is it a budding love with both gods preparing for the love game, or is there separation? The whole is framed in a sober, pine wood, cream-painted frame.