An early portrait of ‘Victory’ viewed from the port quarter, approximately dated by the subject and style. It is a clear and detailed unsigned pencil drawing that may have been traced from a rougher one done from the life. Although it is possible that it is a careful drawing by the Elder, intended to be used in the Greenwich grisaille of the battle of Scheveningen (1655), the neat drawing of the decoration, especially the quarter figures, suggests it is an early work by the Younger. The poor drawing, which makes the gundeck ports appear to run up too much in relation to the waterline, would be characteristic of an early work by him.

On the tafferel, only the harp of the Commonwealth arms is depicted with full length figures on each side. Twice above, are two angels holding a garland. The Prince of Wales’s feathers are shown both on the quarter-gallery and above it.

There was no large early Stuart ship in the Restoration squadron, so that it is unlikely that the incompleteness of the Commonwealth arms has any connexion with the Restoration.

The drawing probably depicts one of the large second-rates, such as the ‘Triumph’, 64-guns, or ‘Victory’, 56-guns, which was only slightly smaller than ‘Triumph’ and in some lists, is given as 64-guns. The prominence of the garlands would suggest either ship, but the feathers would apply only to the ‘Victory’, which was one of the ships built for the Prince of Wales.