This portrait can be dated by the costume to 1580–90 but, most unusually, the sitter is not wearing the ruff that would normally complete the dress. Her simplicity of dress, veil and the small paper that she holds may be intended to indicate devotion, although her quilted sleeves, beaded skirt and lace cuffs indicate a woman of some considerable wealth and status. The identity of the sitter is unknown and, given that, on stylistic grounds, the artist is possibly Italian, it appears not to be a portrait of a member of the Horner family. It has been suggested by Paul Joannides that the artist responsible is a painter close to, or at least influenced by, Ludovico Carracci.