A female figure in an antique-style blue-violet robe fills this enamel painting. The partially chipped, partially retouched golden inscription “DEES S[...] PALLAS” at the top identifies her as the Greek goddess Pallas Athena, the Roman Minerva. The goddess of the arts, crafts, and war carries her attributes: the shield with Medusa’s head, the breastplate decorated with the same motif, the feather-adorned helmet, and the lance. The barefoot goddess turns slightly to the right in a contrapposto. She stands in front of a starry sky in a landscape with an urban background. A large chip in the enamel at the bottom reveals the copper backing.

The light areas of the figure’s skin, rendered in semiopaque white over a dark layer of paint (grisaille), the hatching on the face and arms, and the highlights of gold on the seemingly moving robe lend the form plasticity. The picture is painted in the Mannerist style of the Second School of Fontainebleau, whose artists were active until the early seventeenth century. The Limousin artist who created this work was probably inspired by his fondness for Greek and Roman mythology and grotesque ornamentation.

With its four mounting holes, the piece was probably originally used to decorate the back of a mirror or was embedded in a panel on a wall or door.