This oil painting, dated to 1869, depicts a three-masted vessel (identified as the ‘Maidstone’) sailing on a moderately choppy sea at nearly full sail. She can be seen flying the Red Ensign on her mizzen mast – by this time this was solely the flag of the British Mercantile Marine, its use having been discontinued by the Royal Navy in 1864.

The ship’s mizzen mast also flies numerous signalling penants, while a single pennant adorns the main mast. The fore mast flies a single British Union Flag. A lifeboat fixed to its davits can also be seen at the stern of the vessel.

Ahead and to port of the ‘Maidstone’, in the bottom right of the painting, there is a single smaller two-masted vessel – the shape of the hull and the Chinese-style battened lugsails indicate that it is a junk. This shows that the painting is in an Asian or Far Eastern setting, quite possibly in China. In the far-left of the painting, a headland with cliffs and a mountain can be seen in the distance.

Aside from the somewhat choppy sea, conditions appear to be calm – the skies are clear and the winds appear to be favourable, as shown by the two ships being at full sail and stable in the water.