This piece is probably of a woman named Cecilia Gallerni, mistress of Lodovico Sforza. Here Leonardo re-visits the concept of a visual pun (the first in Ginevra de' Benci). The ermine she holds is an allusion to her name. Gallerni, the subjects last name, means ermine in greek. The creature seems serene, but you still can feel it's untamed nature seeping through. The fur is exquisitely detailed and the animal itself shows Leonardo's firm grasp of anatomy.