Count Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie is dressed here in fanciful armour. Presumably this was a costume he wore for one of the many masquerades or tournaments held at the court in Stockholm, where his brother Magnus Gabriel was one of Queen Christina’s favourites. The mysterious emblems on the shield are difficult to interpret. The laurel wreath and skull probably allude to the bearer’s virtues surviving death. The thigh bone combined with a bow and arrow may have a sexual connotation.