This is an ivory portrait representing David Melville, third Earl of Leven and second Earl of Melville (1660-1728) and is carved by David Le Marchand (1674-1726), in England in ca. 1696-1700.
David Le Marchand was famed for his ivory carvings, particularly his portraits. He was a native of Dieppe, France, and came from a Huguenot, or Protestant, family. With the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and the consequent persecution of non-Catholics, he had to flee France. He was next recorded in Edinburgh in 1696, where he is documented as receiving official permission to open a shop and take on apprentices. He was in London by 1700, when he started to achieve a reputation for his portraits. Despite his wide circle of important patrons and his evident success, Le Marchand apparently died in poverty, though the exact reasons for this are unknown. He is recognised as the most distinguished ivory carver to have worked in England in the early 18th century, a period when the art enjoyed a popularity unknown since the Middle Ages.

The subject David Melville, who was a military commander. In 1685 he entered the service of the Elector of Brandenburg as Captain of Horse, and was appointed Colonel two years later. He took an active part in promoting the succession of Queen Anne in 1702. After the Act of Union he was chosen as a representative peer for Scotland, but in 1712 he was deprived of all his offices by the Tory administration. Both the 3rd Earl of Leven and his father, the 1st Earl of Melville, showed an interest in art.