The two sculptures of boys that form allegorical depictions of Africa and Asia are signed and dated 1689. They are by the Dutch sculptor Bartolomeus Eggers (1630-1692(?)). Both of them are depiction of children, a popular theme in 17th-century Dutch art. One can sense an established tradition in the skilled way Eggers conveys the soft, plump childish body. The sculptor was not averse to demonstrating his technical virtuosity: we should, for example, note how finely carved are the links of the chain and the censer being held by Asia. The statues of the boys may have been a gift to Peter the Great from King Fredrich William I of Prussia made when he visited Berlin in 1716. Up until 1771 they were kept in the Summer Gardens. In the second half of the 19th century they were given to the Hermitage. From the mid-1930s they were in the Hanging Garden of the Small Hermitage (copies are there today).