This is an engraving of a painting of an East Indiaman, with both painting and engraving by Robert Dodd. In lower left is a marking "Painted & Engraved by R. Dodd". In the lower right is "Published No. 22 Lifson Green, Nov 1797." The caption reads "Portrait of an East Indiaman Sailing from Madras; To Robert Preston, Esq, MP, Deputy Master of the Treaty House. This Plate from the Original Picture in his Possession is respectfully Inscribed by his obliged humble Serv't, Robt Dodd."

Robert Dodd (1748-1815) was a British marine painter and aquatint engraver. Dodd started his career as a landscape painter, but after gaining some recognition in this field, specialized in marine scenes. Technically accurate and meticulous, he exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1780 and the Royal Academy in 1782, continuing to exhibit there regularly until 1809.

This print depicting a beautiful seafaring scene with a British ship from Madras (modern Chennai in India), Indian colony of the British Empire.