Portrait of a Man (detail)

Artfully arranged on the desk before the sitter are a shaker of talc or sand for blotting the ink as he writes, a round, flat box, scissors, a small portable case for writing implements, a pile of coins, a balance with a ‘dobla excelente’ coin on the triangular scale and a square weight on the round scale at right, a penknife, a book with a brown leather cover closed with a stylus, and an inkstand with four writing quills, red sealing wax, and a roll of paper. The man writes on a loose quire in front of him while holding his place in his bound notebook.