The inscription on the reverse reads “The view of the country’s ship the Batavier in a wrecked state positioned windward of the country’s fleet, after the Battle of Dogger Bank, wearing the ensign of distress whereupon the frigates Amphitride and Waakzamheid came to the rescue. Furthermore one sees an English battleship, three frigates and a cutter approaching the Batavier whereupon these two ships Amphitride and Waakzamheid changed tack and withdrew while Captain Bosoti had the ensign lowered and raised the princely flag again which made the English think it was a plot. They immediately tacked presuming the Dutch fleet had prepared for battle again.”

The Battle of Dogger Bank occurred on 5 August 1781, when the English naval and merchant fleets under Admiral Hyde-Parker encountered the Dutch naval and merchant fleets under Admiral Zoutman.

Four smaller panels in the collection of the Rijks Museum, Amsterdam, showing scenes from the Battle of Dogger Bank are inscribed Verlakt bij Sasaya in Japan AO 1792 (Lacquered at Sasaya in Japan AD 1792) and are derived from a series of nineteen engravings by Fredrik Murat, published 1782. Japanese lacquerwork decorated with representations from European prints and drawings only first appeared at the end of the late 18th Century. Commanders such as Isaac Titsingh, in Japan in 1780 and 1782-84, and J.F. van Reede tot de Parkeler (1786 and 1788-89) seem to have given the impetus to the production of this type of lacquer ware (see lot 29).