This lacquered plaque shows the Dutch fleet in the sea off Batavia (Jakarta), which at the time was a Dutch-controlled port. Plaques and medallions like this were made in Nagasaki, Japan, for export to Batavia and Europe. These objects were in fashion during the late 18th and early 19th century. Lacquer plaques showing views of other ports, as well as portraits of statesmen, artists, kings, queens, popes, scholars, and philosophers, were also popular. This image is based on an engraving published in Batavia, de hoofdstad van Ne-derlands Oost-Indië, (1782–83), after a drawing by Dutch artist Hendrik Kobell (1751–1799). An inscription on the reverse: DE REEDE VAN BATAVIA, sur-rounds a nautical coat-of-arms of Batavia.
