Thomas Luny (British, 1759-1837) Portrait of the East Indiaman Neptune in two positions off the D...

Thomas Luny (British, 1759-1837) Portrait of the East Indiaman Neptune in two positions off the Downs indistinctly signed and dated 'Luny 17--' (lower left) oil on canvas 82.7 x 145cm (32 9/16 x 57 1/16in). Footnotes: Five ships bearing the name Neptune are recorded in the East India Company's service between 1740 and 1860 when the last one was finally sold as a hulk. The fourth Neptune of those so named, and the largest at 1,468 tons, was built by Wells at Deptford to the order of Sir William Fraser, Bt. and launched on 30th November, 1796. Measuring 144 feet in length with a 44 foot beam, she was well-armed and widely regarded as a handsome ship by those who saw her. In all she made six voyages to the East, mostly to China direct, until she was sold to Sir Robert Wigram in 1811, and afterwards ended her career by completing two further voyages to China, via a call at Bombay, before being broken up in 1819. Neptune herself, although not whilst under Captain Donaldson's command, was involved in two celebrated incidents in the history of the China Trade, the first in August 1800 when the 10-ship convoy she was in was threatened by three French frigates off the coast of Brazil and, along with another Indiaman, the Coutts , chased off the 36-gun Franchise which promptly fled the scene. In the second incident, fifty-two sailors from the Neptune became embroiled in a drunken brawl with a crowd whilst at Canton in February 1807. A Cantonese customs officer subsequently died from the injuries he had received and the local authorities caused a major upset to trade by impounding the China fleet and demanding justice. Although the dispute was eventually settled, it nevertheless proved a turning point in the long struggle to exempt British nationals from Chinese law. For two of Neptune's voyages under Fraser's colours (China direct, June 1804 – September 1806, and Bombay and China, February 1809 – August 1810), she was commanded by Captain William Donaldson and it is recorded in Luny's ledger that he painted a smaller version of the work offered here for Captain Donaldson in March 1826.It is therefore logical to assume that, having seen the original painting, Luny was then commissioned to paint this larger work for either one of the vessel's owners or another of her several masters. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com