Coloured engraving of the East Indiaman at Madras by Robert Dodd, 1797. The 'East Indiaman' is shown in broadside view sailing to left, with other shipping surrounding and Madras in the background.

Inscribed at base 'Portrait of an East Indiaman sailing from Madras. To Robert Preston Esqr MP Deputy Master of the Trinity House. This Plate from the Original Picture in his Possession is respectfully Inscribed by his obliged humble Servt Robt Dodd'

This engraving depicts the ship East Indiaman at Madras, India. The East Indiaman was part of the fleet of English East India Company trading ships. Madras was one of the main British trading ports in India, where Britain forcibly established colonial rule over much of the country during the 1700s.

Robert Dodd was a maritime and naval artist who lived and worked in Wapping, London. While not much is known about his artistic training, he was an accomplished printmaker and published much of his own work. He exhibited with the Royal Academy and the Society of Artists between 1782 and 1809. Many of his works are in the collection of Royal Museums Greenwich.