A woman in a blue jacket and fur-trimmed robe holds a small balance and waits for it to settle. On the table lie pearls, gold and a mirror. Behind her hangs a painting of the Last Judgment, when souls are weighed.

For a long time it was called Woman Weighing Pearls, but under a microscope the pans of the balance are empty. Vermeer’s point seems to be the weighing itself: calm, careful judgment.