An unidentified figure looks away from the viewer, but this is not a portrait of disengagement. The surrounding symbols intrigue us, potentially indicating mood, atmosphere, status and significance. As a work with no inscription, no verbal device, the painting remains as tight-lipped as the woman depicted. Instead, art historians have turned to the study of signs to decipher meaning. The inclusion of animals in portraiture was far from unusual at this point in history - this painting has often been compared to Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine and Holbein himself includes animals in his own works, such as the depiction of Henry VIII's chief falconer proudly displaying his occupation to the viewer. In this case, it was first proposed that the squirrel balanced on the arm of the sitter was perhaps a household pet. More recently, its surreptitious chewing of a nut has been linked to the coat of arms of the Lovell family. Thus the squirrel becomes imbued with additional heraldic co