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Notes
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The 1,475-ton East Indiaman 'Warley', one of the larger and more famous vessels of the East India Company, shown in three positions off Blackwall, on the Thames, at sunset. The ship is shown in port-broadside view in the foreground, in stern view to the left (with her name visible on her transom) and in starboard-bow view on the far left, with other merchant shipping, and with John Perry's Brunswick Dock at Blackwall (from 1806 the East India Export Dock) visible on the far side of the river. The 'Warley', built by Perry's yard at Blackwall in 1795, was the second vessel of the name that he built for the same owner. The tall building to the left of centre is the Blackwall mast house, with its gibbet for lowering the masts into ships in the dock clearly visible.
Early in 1804 she was returning from Canton with a fleet of other British East Indiamen, all carrying valuable goods, under Commodore Nathaniel Dance. Off Pulo Aor in the Straits of Malacca they encountered a French squadron under Rear-Admiral the Comte de Linois, hoping to seize their cargo. Dance ordered his fleet to form a line of battle, bluffing that his Indiamen were a fighting squadron, and a skirmish ensued in which Linois was driven off. Dance was subsequently knighted: 'Warley', commanded by Captain Henry Wilson, played a significant part, which may have prompted Wilson to commission this picture on his return. Wilson was also awarded a presentation sword for his part in the action.
Title
The East Indiaman 'Warley'
Date
1804
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 91.5 x W 144.2 cm
Accession number
BHC3707
Work type
Painting