This lady of noble appearance and dressed in the Renaissance style holds with both hands an ermine - a symbol of purity and incorruptibility - which is what gives her name. His face - of classicist beauty - and his hairstyle recall Italian works from around 1500.

The work belonged to the family house that Miquel Mai, ambassador and vice-chancellor of Charles V, had in Barcelona. Then the building passed to the Marquises of Barberà and was destroyed and abandoned shortly before 1800. This relief and some other pieces were saved, which were taken to the Solterra Barberà palace, in the same city. There the Lady of the Ermine went on to decorate the access staircase to the main floor. The trajectory of the relief is well documented since the 18th century, and it is identified as Priscilla. It was the Marquis of Barberà himself who gave it to Frederic Marès in 1962.

The fact that it is sculpted in marble, in addition to its accentuated Italian character, suggests that it may be a work imported from Italy, like the rest of the medallions that decorated the courtyard of the vice-chancellor's palace. The Museum preserves one of these medallions, with a female bust, which is exhibited in this same room.