[2] Rosa's friends warned him after viewing it privately,[4] that the painting should not be displayed openly as it was a satirical attack on Pope Alexander VII's patronage.

[4] Eventually, Rosa was convinced of the need to offer an explanation of the picture; he did this under the rubric of Manifesto and, according to art writer James Elmes, "proved that his hogs were not churchmen, his mules pretending pedants, his asses Roman nobles, and his birds and beasts of prey, the reigning despots of Italy.

[7] The overall dimensions of the undated oil on canvas are 200.7 by 133 centimetres (79.0 in × 52.4 in) wide;[8] the initials "SR" inscribed on the book at the lower left represent the signature of the artist.

[8] Gemstones, coronets, a sceptre, gold coins, pearls, roses, together with grapes, cereal, and berries flow from the cornucopia onto the animals below.

In the twenty-first century it has been displayed as part of the Bandits, Wilderness and Magic exhibition firstly at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London during 2010 and at the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas from the end of December 2010 to March 2011.