The Wasa's look like standard brutes, while the Mary Rose's have a certain panache; la fleur des pois 
Oh, I agree with you on your observations that the Mary Rose carriage almost has the quality of an experimental sculpture, (which in a way it was - the craftsmen were travelling into territory that hadn't been explored before) and the artisans of the time seemed to possess an almost magical admixture of craft, art, and alchemy. The Mary Rose sank in 1545, the Vasa in 1628, so in just 83 years the naval gun carriage had evolved from a graceful experimental form to a utilitarian (though I think, still having some grace) object. The Vasa carriages have the axles attached under the bed instead of on top of it, the cheeks are solid slabs of wood, the cheeks and bed are fastened by iron straps, the cap squares are hinged so the barrel can be removed, the front of the carriage from cheek to cheek is narrower than the rear of the carriage, and the rear truck is smaller in diameter than the front. The Vasa carriage is well on its way to becoming the naval cannon carriage that would remain in use up until the mid 1800's.
