Anonymous: Portrait of a woman (1599-1600)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

A painting by an anonymous Dutch artist. The depicted woman is propably Maria Schurman (1575 - 1621), who was the aunt of the Dutch painter, scholar and poet  Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678). The type of dress she is wearing is called a 'vlieger'. The large bal at the end of the golden chain around her waist is a container with a ball made of perfumes - called a pomander. Painting from 1599-1600.