Portrait of the 'Olifant' RMG PW6865, circa 1667

Portrait of the 'olifant' the ‘olifant', which belonged to the amsterdam admiralty, was built in 1666 and was obsolete by 1686. The drawing is an offset with only slight touches of strengthening in graphite. It is a stern view of the ‘olifant’, and shows on the tafferel an elephant facing right. On the rail above there are cherubs supporting an arms with crossed anchors on it. There are two shields on the counter, on the port side a lion rampant (in reverse), and on the starboard side crossed anchors for the admiralty of amsterdam. There are other drawings of the ‘olifant’ by van de velde in the boymans-van beuningen museum, rotterdam, and in the national museum of wales. The drawing is unsigned. Portrait of the 'olifant'. Date: circa 1667. Dimensions: Sheet: 256 x 285 mm; Mount: 405 mm x 557 mm. Collection: Fine art.