Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, three-quarter-length, in a red bejewelled dress with pearl trim and lace collar, resting her right hand on a book and holding an orb in her left hand

The present portrait derives from a pencil study of the Queen by Isaac Oliver (c.1560-1617), now in the Royal Collection. The Queen sat to in around 1592, after which the resulting drawing was sent to be engraved, an arrangement that was repeated in 1603 on the Queen's death. Before that, the pattern's use had been confined to engravers, but soon paintings after the prints began to emerge. In many of these related paintings, Elizabeth is shown holding an orb and sceptre, and it is unusual for her to be shown resting her right hand on a book, as in the present portrait.