Perhaps it is the voracious glee with which this sleek rich world is devouring these exquisite Rwandan putti.

BBC: Rwanda's tug-of-war children

Groups of putti grace the case of the 1635 Ruckers: A core sample of its paint indicated that this is its fifth paint job harpsichord owners would redecorate their instruments to keep up with the latest fashions.

WSJ: Restoration Hardware | By Heidi Waleson

Louis's staff is ornamented with miniature putti, or spiritelli, the Renaissance "spirits" based on ancient Roman cupids among the many on view are marble versions, a whole flock at play on a 2nd-century child's sarcophagus and one gleefully ready for mid-15th-century fountain duty.

WSJ: Review: The Flowering of the Florentine Renaissance | 'Springtime of the Renaissance: Sculpture and the Arts in Florence 1400�C1460,' at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence