History thumb|Marble statue believed to represent dogs of this type, second century AD, discovered at Lanuvio in 1774, now in the Vatican Museums Small dogs of sighthound type have long been popular with nobility and royalty. Among those believed to have kept them are Frederick II, Duke of Swabia; members of the D'Este, Medici and Visconti families; the French kings Louis XI, Charles VIII, Charles IX, Louis XIII and Louis XIV; Frederick the Great of Prussia; Anne of Denmark; Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria. Dogs of this type have often been represented in sculpture – including a second-century Roman statue now in the Vatican Museums – and paintings, notably by Giotto, Sassetta and Tiepolo.
History thumb|Marble statue believed to represent dogs of this type, second century AD, discovered at Lanuvio in 1774, now in the Vatican Museums Small dogs of sighthound type have long been popular with nobility and royalty. Among those believed to have kept them are Frederick II, Duke of Swabia; members of the D'Este, Medici and Visconti families; the French kings Louis XI, Charles VIII, Charles IX, Louis XIII and Louis XIV; Frederick the Great of Prussia; Anne of Denmark; Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria. Dogs of this type have often been represented in sculpture – including a second-century Roman statue now in the Vatican Museums – and paintings, notably by Giotto Sassetta and Tiepolo.