Chinese Northern Qi Terracotta Attendant

Comprising three facetted powder boxes with painted floral and geometric motifs to the body, two with the lidded decorated with floral motifs and one with an advancing traveller. 178 grams total, 47-48 mm



Ex Butterfield and Butterfield auction with official Hoi An Hoard labels. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Hoi An shipwreck.

In the mid 15th century a freighting junk loaded with fine Vietnamese pottery sank in an area of the South China Sea called the 'Dragon’s Embrace.' This vessel is part of the shipwreck cargo recovered off the coast of Vietnam at Hoi An. The ceramics themselves were probably made in the area of Chu Dau.

Of conical form, with everted rim and discoid foot, the interior decorated with a lustrous blackish glaze shot through with streaks of blue-silver 'hare's fur' markings, the exterior displaying russet and silver markings, the brown ware visible towards the foot. 302 grams, 12.9 cm



UK gallery, early 2000s.

Footed bowl with painted blue floral motifs and circumferential lines, rosette to inner centre and signature to underside. 423 grams, 16.5 cm



Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.

The Tek Sing (True Star) wreck is one of the famous recovery stories of the 20th century. Sailing from the port of Xiamen (then known as Amoy) in February 1822 the vessel Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, Indonesia laden with porcelain goods and 1600 Chinese emigrants. The captain decided to pass through the Gaspar Strait, between the Bangka-Belitung Islands, and ran aground on a reef. The vessel sank in about 100 feet of water. The next morning, February 7, an English East Indiaman captained by James Pearl, passing through the same waters, encountered debris and some survivors and managed to rescue about 190 of the latter.