H.M.S. Serapis, with the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) aboard en route to India in 1875

Although somewhat naive in execution, this work almost certainly depicts the Indian troopship Serapis built, along with four identical sisters, in the 1860s to police Britain's expanding colonial responsibilities. During a busy but otherwise uneventful life, Serapis achieved a brief moment of glory when she was chosen to convey the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) on his historic visit to India in 1875-76. Whilst the Prince returned home in her all the way to Portsmouth, on the outward journey he boarded her at Brindisi having crossed Europe by special train. It is likely therefore that this work shows Serapis after leaving Brindisi en route to the Suez Canal.