A seated nobleman holding a pink flower
Leaf from the Read Albums
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) in 1911
In this portrait, the border scenes, by a different artist, were deemed appropriate because they attest to the subject's aristocratic status by suggesting that he, too, engaged in similar hunting activities. The seated nobleman holding a pink has not been identified; before him are a long sword and shield, golden spittoon, open pan box, and more flowers in a basket. His attendant holds a fly whisk. In the top border, a falconer learns the location of the prey from a scout, while at the bottom an equestrienne helps out by lassoing the neck of a gazelle with her bow. But most intriguing is the group of female hunters dressed as men on the left, one of whom has shot the young doe held by the others. The woman on the left holds a firearm, the weapon that ultimately transformed the nature of the medieval hunt.