Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum.

Stern carving from the Royal Charles (c. 1663-64).

“These arms of King Charles II of England once adorned the stern transom, or ‘counter’, of the English flagship the Royal Charles. The vessel was captured by Dutch forces in 1667 at its home port of Chatham, near London, and towed over the North Sea to the Netherlands, where it was scrapped. The counter decoration was preserved to commemorate this extraordinary Dutch triumph and England’s defeat.”