Portrait of an English two-decker

An English two-decker viewed form the starboard quarter. The work depicts the ports on the broadside, showing twelve on the gun deck, nine on the upper deck, and four on the quarter deck. On the stern are two rows of windows with an intervening row of panelled decoration between them. In the centre of this is a crowned foul anchor, flanked by a rose and probably a thistle, with an Irish harp to the right and possibly the Prince of Wales feathers to the left. Above are the royal arms with female supporters and three stern lanterns. An ensign on a staff and very lightly sketched hints of lower masts and bowsprit are also included in the drawing. The starboard anchor is shown hanging at the cathead.

A pencil and wash drawing, by the Younger, signed in brown ink ‘W.V.V.J’.

The stern decoration and disposition of ports are similar to those of a ship tentatively identified as the ‘Lenox’, 70-guns, built in 1678 (drawing in the Boymans Museum, Rotterdam, 362).

Object Details

ID: PAH4119
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Velde, Willem van de, the Younger
Date made: 1685
People: Velde, Willem van de, the Younger
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Sheet: 397 x 519 mm; Mount: 558 mm x 736 mm