A finished drawing of the Madonna and Child, seated to left, the Child reaching to a honeycomb and a pat of butter with flowers, held by two kneeling angels, right; St Joseph behind, and above two child angels with a banderole inscribed 'EN MEL O PRUDENS EMANUEL ECCE BUTIRUM'.

The drawing corresponds exactly with a painting by Morazzone in the chapel of Santa Maria Maddalena, Moretta, Piedmont, probably painted for the Dukes of Savoy in Turin around 1622. The inscription in the banderole is a reference to Isaiah's prophecy that butter and honey would be eaten by the Saviour of Israel. See A. Cifani and F. Monetti, 'Morazzone's 'Madonna del miele' from the collection of the Dukes of Savoy', Burlington Magazine, 1999, pp. 681-2. Derivations from the painting, without the angels above, are at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire (see A. Laing, letter, Burlington Magazine, 2000, p. 112) and on the art market c.1980. 

The drawing is inscribed, lower left, in the 'Deceptive hand', 'Romanino da Brescia'. The attribution to Morazzone was due to Philip Pouncey (note on mount, 1971?) who noted the connection with the Kedleston painting, and supported by Laing (cit.). However the uniform but dull finish of the drawing, in a technique unusual for a preparatory study, and the carefully transcribed presence of the inscription on the banderole, suggest that this is a copy of the painting rather than an original study.