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Sovereign of the Seas

Unidentified artist, active in England, 17th century
Possibly after designs by: Peter Pett (English, 1610–1672)
Possibly after designs by: Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599–1641)
about 1635

Medium/Technique Pen and ink with tempera on vellum, mounted on board
Dimensions Framed: 58.4 x 178.1 x 5.1 cm (23 x 70 1/8 x 2 in.)
Credit Line Gift of John Templeman Coolidge
Accession Number32.192
ClassificationsDrawings

DescriptionProbably a presentation drawing for the ship designed by Peter Pett for Charles I of England and built in 1637. It shows the sculptures of the starboard side in some detail, drawn in pen, colored with tempera, and accented in gold.
ProvenancePurportedly found in a London residence originally owned by John Jackson, nephew and heir to Samuel Pepys. By 1916, Harry Oatway (dealer; d. 1917), London [see note]; November 8, 1917, posthumous Oatway sale, American Art Association, New York, lot 248, sold to C. A. Collins, Jr., Greenwich, CT, for $20 [see note 2]; 1926 or 1927, sold by Collins to John Templeman Coolidge (b. 1856 - d. 1945), Brookline, MA; February 27, 1929, lent by Coolidge to the MFA; 1932, gift of Coolidge to the MFA. (Accession Date: July 21, 1932).

NOTES:

NOTE 1: Oatway offered the drawing for $600 at Tiffany Studios, New York, in or just after 1916, as part of a curated selection from his London stock. It is listed in Catalogue Containing a Descriptive List and Prices of a Notable Collection of Antiques Selected and Offered by Mr. Harry Oatway of London. (New York: Tiffany, [about 1916]): item 296.

NOTE 2: The price and purchaser are noted in a pencil annotation in the copy of the catalogue held at the Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.