Sea change

MARINE archaeologists are battling the elements to excavate and record the crumbling wreck of an 18th-century Dutch trading vessel, the Rooswijk, which sank off the Kent coast in the winter of 1740.

The Rooswijk was a Dutch East India Company ship bound for Batavia (now Jakarta), on the Indonesian archipelago, laden with silver ingots and coinage, but it went down on the notorious Goodwin Sands, known to have claimed more than 2,000 ships over the centuries (Town & Country, May 10). The strong currents and shifting sands of the area mean the exposed remains of the protected wreck site are classified as ‘high risk’ in Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register.

A wooden seaman’s chest, carved knife handles and pewter jugs (right) have so far been recovered. The public can see the finds and learn more in an open day at Ramsgate on September 16. Visit www.historicengland.org.uk/get-involved/visit/rooswijkshipwreck-excavation for further information. Jack Watkins From Victorian corsetry to the ‘sweaters and slacks’ of the Roaring Forties, ‘A Flair for Fashion: British Portraiture 1888– 1945’ is a celebration of the art of dress and the changing ideals of beauty through the medium of British portraiture. Society figures are depicted, as well as muses and models, by artists including Philip de László, Augustus John, Stanley Cursiter, James Shannon (above) and Sir John Lavery. The exhibition runs from September 20 to October 20 at Richard Green, New Bond Street, London W1 (www.richardgreen.com).