Few breeds are exact replicas of their ancestors from over 200 years ago, but at its time in 1777, this portrait by Thomas Gainsborough of the adult Pomeranian, “Abel” was so realistic that when the portrait was delivered to the house of the dog’s owner,  “the deception was so complete that the elder subject, irritated at the presence of a supposed rival, flew at her own resemblance with such fury that it was found necessary to place the picture in a situation where it was free from her jealous anger.”

The two dogs in the painting are said to have belonged to Carl Friedrich Abel, one-third of an ensemble of German composers and musicians that included Johann Fischer and Johann Christian Bach.  The artist, Gainsborough, was an accomplished musician in his own right, and he and Abel often played together. It’s speculated that Gainsborough may have presented the painting to his friend in exchange for lessons on an instrument he’d bought from the musician.

The painting entitled, “Pomeranian Bitch and Puppy,” was bequeathed by Mrs Arthur James in 1948 and now hangs at the Tate Museum in London