The 'Provincie van Utrecht'

On the tafferel are the arms of the province of Utrecht, lying on a crowned shield. On the rail above is a standing female figure holding an orb. There are two shields on the counter. On the port side is a lion rampant while on the starboard side are crossed anchors, referring to the Admiralty of Amsterdam. This drawing is inscribed in pencil, 'Het schip uijtect' and in grey ink, 'Het schip uijtrecght genamt 1661,' with 'Ao t amsterdam' added in brown ink. On the back of the drawing is another inscription, 'd ersels groeter' (the portlids larger). The drawing of the portlids has been corrected. This work is one of five drawings (the others being PAH5015, PAH3860, PAH3861, PAH1770) in which the stern decoration of the ships has been executed accurately and in great detail using pencil and wash. The sides of the ships, however, have a dull, flat wash over them. The works are all probably based on offsets but are not seen in reverse. They have been approximately dated to 1665 based on the subjects and the watermarks on the paper. Another vessel named the 'Wapen van Utrecht' was built in 1661, of 38-guns. It belonged to the Admiralty of the Maas. There was also another ship called the 'Utrecht' which had 66-guns and was built at Amsterdam in 1665. Another, with 42-guns, was built for the Maas in 1653. This latter ship had very similar arms on her tafferel but was supported by lions. A drawing of the 'Utrecht' exists in the Boymans Museum, Rotterdam (MB 1866/T 250).
Willem van de Velde, the Younger

Original size: 290 mm x 437 mm