The Fleet at its Anchorage, probably the Nore

Throughout the seventeenth century, and most particularly during the Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652-54, 1665-67 and 1672-74), the most important anchorage for the Royal Navy was the Nore. The Nore itself was a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames, situated off the entrance to the River Medway, and warships anchored there could protect not only London, but also the vital naval dockyard at Chatham established by Henry VIII. Much enlarged by Queen Elizabeth and also by Charles II, Chatham was the scene of the Royal Navy's greatest humiliation when a Dutch fleet under Admiral de Ruyter sailed up the Medway and captured or destroyed sixteen ships lying there during the Second Dutch War in 1667. Defending this area was therefore of paramount importance although the Nore was of equal significance as a safe anchorage from whence battle fleets could be despatched or simply held in readiness for sea. Portrayals of the Fleet at the Nore were a popular subject for several seventeenth century marine artist, the most famous being two very similar works - depicting Charles II's visit there in June 1672 - by Jacob Knyff and Willem van de Velde the Younger.

Christie's are most grateful to Frank Cockett for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.