Painted Lady

The Painted Lady was a 19th-century merchant brig. In 1805, during its voyage from Italy to Libya, the ship transported both Solomon Bolden, the Templar Black Cross who posed as a slave trader, and Jan van der Graff, an agent of Emperor Napoleon I of France posing as a textile merchant.^[1]

During the voyage, Bolden and Graff became acquainted with one another and worked together to fend off pirates hired by the Ottoman Sultan Selim III to board the Painted Lady and kill the Black Cross.^[1] After the ship docked in Derna, Bolden and Graff decided to maintain their partnership after learning they were both headed to Tripoli, and the latter procured camels for the rest of their journey.^[2]