Although the name of the ship depicted in this late drawing by Serres is not now known it is almost certainly a 'ship portrait', that is, an accurate depiction of a particular ship - a form of marine painting that continued well into the 20th century. The ship is of rather antiquated build and may have been built twenty or so years before the drawing. She is shown in three different positions, a feature of late 18th century marine painting which enabled the artist to show more of the ship than the conventional broadside view.