This is a ship portrait viewed from the starboard bow. This drawing is not rubbed on the back but is nonetheless based on an offset. It is extremely accurate, a feature synonymous with the work of van de Velde the Younger. The hand of van de Velde the Elder is recognisable, however, in the isometric perspective which makes the stern larger than it should be for a drawing made so close on the bow. Reflection is suggested under the stern using a prominent flick of pencil.

The drawing has been approximately dated by its watermark. It may have been used as a preparatory study a painting by van de Velde the Younger, The ‘Gouden Leeuw’ at sea in heavy weather, 1671, oil on canvas, 66.7 x 82.7 cm (Royal Collection, inventory no. RCIN 405324). There is a tracing of the same image in the Boymans Museum, Rotterdam.