Leda and the Swan (Michelangelo) to spend in hiding. It was a square work in tempera, representing Jupiter as a swan making love to a reclining Leda (based on a composition from ancient Roman gems and seals), an egg and Castor and Pollux as children. It was completed by mid-October 1530 but Alfonso described it as a "little thing" in Michelangelo's hearing and so he refused to hand it over. The work and some of the preparatory drawings were in fact acquired (either as a purchase or a gift) by Antonio Mini, who took it to France in 1531. In 1532 he left it to
HMS Leda (1892) to coast-guard duties. on 8 February 1908, "Leda" collided with the old cruiser in Harwich harbour. "Leda" was badly holed and had to be beached to avoid sinking. She went under repair at Sheerness Dockyard. Repairs were completed by the end of March that year, allowing"Leda" to resume her coast-guard duties at Harwich. She was converted to a minesweeper in 1909, which involved removing the torpedo tubes, but continued on coast-guard and fishery protection operations. On 3 February 1914 "Leda" was towing the coastguard cutter "Snipe" off Gunfleet in the Thames estuary when "Snipe" foundered and sunk. One of "Leda"s