I've been studying Tudor and 16th century history and was under the impression that artwork (especially portraits) were based massively on symbolism. I noticed while at a gallery that a portrait of Philip II of Spain saw him holding a wooden baton or stick, while still equipped with a sword and dagger. I was wondering the significance of the stick or baton?
A reply to /u/eatmysquash
It will be great to see exactly which paintings you are referring to exactly, but I shall make a guess that it's a marshall's baton you are asking about. It signifies his battlefield command. Could you be talking of this one?
You are right that paintings of that era had so much symbolism. I believe that painting was painted recently after Philip led an army from the Low Countries to victory over the French, in the period where he was married to Mary Tudor or was about to be married to her.