Rum_Pirate
Well-Known Member
Antique collectors' corner: cargo salvaged from shipwrecks
Drama, history and romance: how to find and buy cargo salvaged from shipwrecks.
My love of ceramics dates from the late Sixties, when I collected old plates from junk shops as a student in Edinburgh. This appreciation is primarily fuelled by a simple admiration of the pleasing forms and shapes of most useful and attractive ceramics, and of the diverse styles of their decoration, whether hand-painted or printed. However, throw in a little dramatic history and my quiet and constant appreciation surges into a compelling passion.
The case in point is Oriental export porcelain. Not the pieces successfully imported into Europe from the late Middle Ages onward, rather, those that sank to the bottom of the ocean in storms and high seas. Seemingly lost forever they have, since the early Eighties – thanks to fishermen, salvage experts and archaeologists – begun to reappear and, via auction houses and ceramics dealers, finally reach their original destinations.
While some of these salvaged cargoes contain Oriental porcelain made after Europe had discovered the secrets of its manufacture at Meissen in the early 18th century, many are from earlier, when the Chinese still had the monopoly and imported porcelain was the preserve of the aristocracy and upper middle classes.
Most pieces available are blue-and-white wares, ranging from individual tea and table wares (and sets of) to purely decorative vases, as well as quirky items such as water-droppers. While earlier forms and shapes are oriental – tea bowls for example – European shapes, such as handled cups and beer mugs, were also produced to meet demands.
As to specific wrecks and cargoes, there have been quite a few in the past 27 years or so, but the following are a good starting point. The Hatcher Cargo, from a Chinese junk that sank in around 1643, means the most to me because I bought 15 pieces at a Christies auction in Amsterdam in 1984. The exciting cargo includes some 25,000 pieces, mostly blue-and-white late Ming and early Qing wares from the Jingdezhen kilns, ranging in quality from very poor to quite fabulous.
If the Hatcher is the most personal to me, the Vung Tau Cargo of 1690-1700 remains the most exciting. Salvaged from a Chinese junk sunk by fire en route to Jakarta, the cargo comprised mostly Kangxi blue-and-white porcelain in sets intended for display. I presented a documentary on its sale from Amsterdam, surrounded by all 48,000 pieces just before auction in 1992. A treasure trove indeed.
The most publicised and famous, however, is the Nanking Cargo salvaged from the Geldermalsen, a Dutch East Indiaman that sank off Jakarta around 1751. Making up its 140,000 pieces sold at Christies, Amsterdam, in 1986 were 170 complete table services, some containing 150 to 300 pieces each. In terms of quantity, however, that was superseded by the Hoi An Hoard comprising 250,000 pieces sunk around 1450-1500 off Vietnam.
Ranging from the utilitarian to the exquisite, they have demonstrated that early Vietnamese ceramics can be just as desirable as their better-known Chinese equivalents.
Before you dip your toe in the water, note that fakes do appear on the market. Also be aware that quite a few pieces, notably from the Vung Tau Cargo, have been restored in the Far East – a process that makes them less valuable than undamaged equivalents. For these reasons I strongly advise you to always buy from a reputable auction house or specialist dealer.
As for prices, the pieces from the Hatcher Cargo begin at around £150 to £200 for a small saucer, rising to £30,000-plus for a dish with a highly desirable snow scene. Expect to pay a similar price for dragon ewers from the Hoi An Hoard. Yet entry level prices for new collectors remain at just £20 to £30 for a small piece from, for example, the lesser-known early 19th-century Tek Sing wreck. A small price for something reclaimed from Davy Jones's locker.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property...rs-corner-cargo-salvaged-from-shipwrecks.html
Drama, history and romance: how to find and buy cargo salvaged from shipwrecks.
My love of ceramics dates from the late Sixties, when I collected old plates from junk shops as a student in Edinburgh. This appreciation is primarily fuelled by a simple admiration of the pleasing forms and shapes of most useful and attractive ceramics, and of the diverse styles of their decoration, whether hand-painted or printed. However, throw in a little dramatic history and my quiet and constant appreciation surges into a compelling passion.
The case in point is Oriental export porcelain. Not the pieces successfully imported into Europe from the late Middle Ages onward, rather, those that sank to the bottom of the ocean in storms and high seas. Seemingly lost forever they have, since the early Eighties – thanks to fishermen, salvage experts and archaeologists – begun to reappear and, via auction houses and ceramics dealers, finally reach their original destinations.
While some of these salvaged cargoes contain Oriental porcelain made after Europe had discovered the secrets of its manufacture at Meissen in the early 18th century, many are from earlier, when the Chinese still had the monopoly and imported porcelain was the preserve of the aristocracy and upper middle classes.
Most pieces available are blue-and-white wares, ranging from individual tea and table wares (and sets of) to purely decorative vases, as well as quirky items such as water-droppers. While earlier forms and shapes are oriental – tea bowls for example – European shapes, such as handled cups and beer mugs, were also produced to meet demands.
As to specific wrecks and cargoes, there have been quite a few in the past 27 years or so, but the following are a good starting point. The Hatcher Cargo, from a Chinese junk that sank in around 1643, means the most to me because I bought 15 pieces at a Christies auction in Amsterdam in 1984. The exciting cargo includes some 25,000 pieces, mostly blue-and-white late Ming and early Qing wares from the Jingdezhen kilns, ranging in quality from very poor to quite fabulous.
If the Hatcher is the most personal to me, the Vung Tau Cargo of 1690-1700 remains the most exciting. Salvaged from a Chinese junk sunk by fire en route to Jakarta, the cargo comprised mostly Kangxi blue-and-white porcelain in sets intended for display. I presented a documentary on its sale from Amsterdam, surrounded by all 48,000 pieces just before auction in 1992. A treasure trove indeed.
The most publicised and famous, however, is the Nanking Cargo salvaged from the Geldermalsen, a Dutch East Indiaman that sank off Jakarta around 1751. Making up its 140,000 pieces sold at Christies, Amsterdam, in 1986 were 170 complete table services, some containing 150 to 300 pieces each. In terms of quantity, however, that was superseded by the Hoi An Hoard comprising 250,000 pieces sunk around 1450-1500 off Vietnam.
Ranging from the utilitarian to the exquisite, they have demonstrated that early Vietnamese ceramics can be just as desirable as their better-known Chinese equivalents.
Before you dip your toe in the water, note that fakes do appear on the market. Also be aware that quite a few pieces, notably from the Vung Tau Cargo, have been restored in the Far East – a process that makes them less valuable than undamaged equivalents. For these reasons I strongly advise you to always buy from a reputable auction house or specialist dealer.
As for prices, the pieces from the Hatcher Cargo begin at around £150 to £200 for a small saucer, rising to £30,000-plus for a dish with a highly desirable snow scene. Expect to pay a similar price for dragon ewers from the Hoi An Hoard. Yet entry level prices for new collectors remain at just £20 to £30 for a small piece from, for example, the lesser-known early 19th-century Tek Sing wreck. A small price for something reclaimed from Davy Jones's locker.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property...rs-corner-cargo-salvaged-from-shipwrecks.html
