This drawing closely resembles two of the three drawings included in the sale of property from the Estate of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe (sold in these rooms 27-28 May 2015, lot 140). A label on the reverse states that the present drawing was exhibited in Paris in 1882 with two other drawings in the same frame. It is possible that the present drawing was originally framed with two of the Roxburghe drawings and was subsequently replaced for a later drawing of the face of Fortuna in The Wheel of Fortune. Sotheby's 2016
From the beginning Fortuna was either blindfolded or with eyes closed, consequently this must be a variant study before it was decided it was decided that she was to wear a cap. Many such variant studies survive, all made in the mid to late 1870s.