Susini was involved in the design and execution of Giambologna's monument to Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (1594), but this model is closer to the equestrian statue of Duke Ferdinando I in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, Florence (1608). The Ferdinando monument was largely executed by Pietro Tacca, but this statuette may reflect an earlier model. The presence of the girth and reins indicate that the horse was originally intended to have a rider.
