Portrait of a lady, bust-length

This diminutive portrait of a lady is painted on a circular panel and designed to fit easily into the palm of a hand. The reverse of the panel is elegantly carved to form patterns of concentric circles, suggesting the painting was originally conceived as a type of portable portrait, protected by a matching lid. Though not unheard-of in Italy, these objects were more frequently produced in the north, where they were known as `kapsel' portraits (see for example Hans Holbein’s Portrait of Philip Melancthon, circa 1529/32 in the Niedersächsische Landesgalerie, Hannover, which still retains its lid; C. Gardner von Teuffel, ‘Raphael's Portrait of Valerio Belli: Some New Evidence', The Burlington Magazine, CXXIX, no. 1015, October 1987, pp. 663-666, no. 7, illustrated).