Welcome Guest  Merchant Carrack. This was a large galleon built by the Portuguese in the 14th, 15 and 16th centuries used to traverse the oceans to trade for silk, spices and chinaware. |
HISTORICAL SHIPWRECKS Shipwrecks which remain undisturbed on the seabed for centuries provide vital information about the past. The challenge of archaeology is to understand the past by studying material traces. On land, archaeologists may excavate burial sites, lost monuments or deposited waste. At sea, marine archaeologists may excavate ships fully loaded with today's antique pottery. Object on board are usually assumed to be contemporary products dating from the year of sinking. Antique pottery recovered from such dated assemblages in the South China Sea, yield important clues about Asia's ceramics developments and associated maritime trade. "As time capsules, each with content deposited at a single moment in time, these are more valid as dating evidence than are decades of scholarly guesswork based on unprovenanced museum collections" (Asian Ceramic Research Organization) |
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The European East India ships of the 17th century provided the first direct contact with Asia's spices, silk and ceramics. The Wanli Shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia in November 2003. It was fully excavated in mid-2005 in association with the then Malaysian Department of Museums and Antiquities. Believed to be a Portuguese vessel circa 1625, the ship was carrying an impressive cargo of late Ming Dynasty blue-&-white kraakware, a form of export porcelain produced during and following the reign of Emperor Wanli (1563-1619). Kraak was the first blue & white porcelain to arrive in Europe in large quantities where it became highly sought after. The Ming |
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porcelain of this period charmed buyers with its lively and spontaneous free painted images of deer, crickets and birds in natural settings.
The porcelain was named after the Carracks, the Portuguese ships that first transported this cargo.
The Wanli Shipwreck bears testimony to the treacherous nature of maritime trade in the 17th Century. The distribution and condition of the porcelain cargo suggest that the ship’s gunpowder room may have exploded before sinking. It is thought that it was boarded and set alight by a ship from a rival nation.
WANLI PORCELAIN IN THE ARTS – AN HISTORICAL RECORD
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Still Life with Fruit in a Wan-Li Bowl A Roemer c.1630 |
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Detail from Tulips in a Wan-Li Vase c. 1619, |
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Chinese kraakware was far superior in terms of form and style to anything available at the time. It inspired the development of blue & white Delftware in Holland which emerged more than a century later. Prized Wanli bowls and plates featured prominently in the still lifes of the Dutch Masters of the 1600s who wanted to demonstrate their skill at depicting the delicate surfaces and intricate detailing of the exotic blue & white porcelain from the Far East.
Quoted from Sten Sjostrand essay:
“The ‘‘Ming ban’’ was officially abolished in 1567 and this allowed the Portuguese to openly trade with China. By now Chinese potters were crafting exquisite blue and white porcelain ware that was as translucent as jade and almost as precious. It captivated an ever-increasing group of European buyers and by the beginning of the 17th century blue and white porcelain was being exported to Portugal, Holland and England. From the beginning of the 18th century, more and more European merchant vessels were crossing the South China Sea with thousands of pieces of blue and white porcelain onboard. Many private European traders settled in Asia, using locally built ships to join in this lucrative commerce. “
DESARU SHIPWRECK - THE CHINESE JUNK
| The Desaru Shipwreck was found off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia at a depth of 20 metres. It was fully researched and excavated in 2003.
Chinese ceramics comprised 10% of the cargo of this Chinese vessel. This included finely crafted Yixing teapots, and brown, black and green glazed stoneware for practical everyday use. |
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Blue & white porcelain on board consisted of a range of tableware from the Dehua and Jingdezhen kilns. Among these were flower bowls and dishes, lion dog and chrysanthemum blossom plates, Kamcheng jars decorated with delicate pea blossoms, covered wine bowls with Double Happiness motifs, and a large quantity of spoons. Lion Dog Kamcheng Jars, teapots and Om plates from the Desaru Shipwreck Much of the blue & white survived intact. Excavated shards, however, were less abundant. Due to the relative scarcity of these shards, pieces from from Tradewind Treasures’ Desaru Collection are exceedingly limited. |
