A seal poses like a Golden Age gentleman: a spotless lace collar, a dark cloak draped over the shoulders and a calm gaze turned toward the light, all rendered in the soft, hushed manner of a Vermeer. Light slides over its glossy coat the way it would over velvet in a genuine old-master painting, and the clash between that round, whiskered face and its aristocratic wardrobe raises a grin before the joke has even fully landed. The deep, almost brown tones only add to the illusion of a canvas lifted straight from a museum.

This portrait belongs to our series of animals reimagined as old-world nobility, a mock-solemn gallery you can browse in our Animal Portraits collection. It sits happily above a desk, in a hallway or in a slightly theatrical living room, and pairs beautifully with other pieces in the same vein to build a whole wall of fake ancestors. One for anyone who enjoys seeing classical art tweaked with a knowing wink.

• 16 sizes available, from a small 13×18 cm up to a large A0
• As a print alone or framed in black, white, light wood or dark wood
• Printed on demand using quality paper and inks
• Free shipping included

For the painting-loving friend who seems to own everything already, this courtly seal brings the note of humour and cheek their walls were still missing.