The Collections

A three-quarter-length portrait to right in a grey silk coat, a silver-laced yellow silk waistcoat and a grey bag wig. The 'Cornwall', 80 guns, with the flag of a vice-admiral of the white, is in the right background. The portrait…

This small oil by Stothard shows the roundhouse - the passenger saloon under the poop - of the outward-bound East Indiaman 'Halsewell' in the early hours of 6 January 1786, after a storm drove her ashore at 2 a.m. across…

Lloyds Patriotic Fund £50 presentation sword. Owned by Captain Henry Wilson (Hon. East India Co.). The hilt consists of a gilt pommel and back-piece in the form of a lion's skin. The quillon is shaped as a Roman fascis, the…

Full dress coat of a Commander, Honourable East India Company. Tail coat of fine blue wool lined with white silk twill. Large, heavy button back lapel faced with black velvet and embroidered with a twist pattern, outlining the buttonhole. The…

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund vase presented to John Fam Timins (c1766-1843) for his part in the defeat of a French squadron under Linois in 1804. Silver vase and cover of amphora form, with a flat cover surmounted with a lion passant.…

Pocket chronometer in 18ct yellow gold case, now mounted as a carriage clock. Thirty hour duration, single train, gilt brass four pillar fusee movement with Arnold type spring detent escapement and Arnold type Z balance. Seven turn helical blued-steel balance…

A depiction of the third of the five fleet actions fought off Ceylon and the east coast of India, at the end of the War of American Independence, between the French and English East Indies squadrons of Pierre-André de Suffren,…

A three-quarter-length portrait to left in the full-dress uniform of Commodore of the Bombay Marine. Wearing a white wig, he leans on an anchor fluke and holds a drawing of a fort in his right hand. In 1747 James joined…

This shows two views of the snow 'Charlotte, Chittagong' at anchor in the Hoogli River off Calcutta. She is shown in stern view on the left, with the name visible on the transom and in port-broadside view in the centre,…

A group portrait of three sons of William Money (1738-96), a Director of the East India Company and an Elder Brother of Trinity House, commissioned by Sir Robert Wigram Bt (1769-1830), Money's lifelong friend and business partner [ ref. Christies,…

A full-length portrait seated to left in a white robe and embroidered pashmina shawl. He wears a full moustache curled at the ends and a turban. In his left hand he holds a pair of dividers. His right arm rests…

Oil painting entitled 'View of Mr Perry's Yard, Blackwall' painted during the French Revolutionary War (1793-1801). Shipbuilding at Blackwall began in the16th century but was regularized when the East India Company developed a yard there in the early 17th century.…

This painting has the alternative title 'Deck scene in an Indiaman'. The attribution to Captain Robert Williams is not certain however the donor stated that it was painted by 'a captain of an East Indiaman called Williams about the time…

A portrait of a powerfully armed East India Company vessel, identifiable by the striped ensign, jack and pendants. A further mark of identification is the cypher positioned above the taffrail. The ship is shown from two positions, on the left…

This 1-pound roundshot is recorded as having been recovered from the timber of an Indiaman, though the circumstances and date are not known. Swivel guns firing shot of this size were carried on board Royal Navy dispatch schooners in the…

A single barnacle taken from the hull of an Indiaman with smaller ones growing on it, composed of organic nacre. The accretion of barnacles and weed growth, which coppering reduced but did not prevent, could severely affect the perfomance of…

A three-quarter-length portrait of a merchant captain facing slightly to the right and looking towards the viewer. He wears a naval jacket and gold braid, blue trousers, white shirt and a loose black cravat, and he holds a telescope. He…

Honourable East India Company's Egypt Medal, 1801. The obverse depicts a sepoy, standing, holding a large ensign; an attack upon a fortified position in distance. The exergue bears the inscription in Persian: 'This medal has been presented in commemoration of…

Obverse: A sepoy, standing on the shore, his right arm raised, waving the Union Jack, spearing with his left hand the prostrate sceptre of France, (a winged cock;) a gun (right); a fleet of five vessels in a distant harbour…