The attribution was advanced by Philip Pouncey. The drawing has not been connected with any picture. The precise penwork overlaid with delicately applied wash is similar to The Raising of the True Cross before the Empress Helena in Chicago which is related to the Cycle of the Legend of the True Cross painted by numerous artists for the Oratorio del Crocefiso, San Marcello al Corso, Rome between 1568 and 1580, H. Joachim and S. Folds McCullagh, Italian Drawings in the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago and London, 1979, no. 33, pl. 39. The Chicago and Holkham drawings and a further drawing of similar character (exhibited by Trinity Fine Art and Compagnie des Beaux-Arts at Harari & Johns Ltd. in 1990, no. 16), reflect the influence of Taddeo Zuccaro and Muziano.

The subject of the drawing is the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the claim to the lordship of Athens. Athena's gift to the Athenians was an olive tree which sprang from the bare soil of the Acropolis when she struck it with her spear, while Poseidon's trident blow produced a spring of water or, according to another tradition, a horse. The Athenians chose Athena as their protector