It seems that this is one of a set of drawings for a palazzo probably made either without a commission but in the hope of gaining one or for a competition set by, for example, the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome. The inscribed scales are in the 'Italian hand' found, for example, on several of the 13 record drawings bought in Rome by Dance between 1759 and 1764; the watermark of an encircled fleur-de-lis is found, for example, in three of the sheets among the Italian record drawings bought in Rome [SM 44/8/4], [SM 44/8/6] and [SM 44/8/7].

Professor Alan Tait (in conversation, 12 June 2002) suggests a date of about 1730 and Alessandro Galilei (1691-1737, see Colvin) as a possible author of the design.