Portrait of a naval officer aged 24, 1619 (oil on canvas)

Creator: British School A three-quarter length portrait of a man facing to the right in a black doublet of watered silk with black silk buttons and braid on the front and sleeves. At the waistline is a broad band of gold lace, almost obscured by large silk bows with silver aglets. The hose is wide with black braiding on the side. His left hand rests on the brim of his tall black hat resting on a table covered with a red cloth. He holds a leather-bound book in his right hand, with his fingers marking a place in the pages. The background is a plain dark wall and in the top right hand corner is a framed picture of an English flagship. This fine portrait has been the subject of much speculation. The subject is known to be 24 years old in 1619. He is shown as an officer in, or captain of, a large four-masted warship. There were so many of these in the Jacobean navy that an accurate identification of the sitter is not possible.