The sex weasels of classical portraiture

No acchiappaclick here: you're getting exactly what the headline promises. Weasels are a symbol of sexuality in portraiture and there are so very many to choose from.

Dr Chelsea Nichols:

Weasels sometimes also appear in Renaissance paintings where the woman is already successfully pregnant. In these cases, the weasel can better be understood to represent the hope for safe childbirth.

Some believed that wearing weasel fur directly on the skin could also help ease childbirth. Letters between Christina de Medici, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and her daughter Catherine, for instance, show that the Dowager sent her daughter an ermine or marten belt when Catherine was believed to be pregnant, claiming that it had helped her during the birth of her children.