Chinese Rock Crystal Head of Buddha

Each a shallow dish with tendrils and stylised floral motif to the upper face. 1.15 kg total, 17.5 cm each



Ex Nagel Auction, with official Tek Sing Treasure labels to verso. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Tek Sing shipwreck. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

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.

Biconvex in profile with flared mouth, lateral strap handles at the equator. 1.27 kg, 23 cm



Ex West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Modelled in the round; seated cross-legged, supporting his weight on his left arm, left hand pinching the stem of a blossom supporting a vajra above his left shoulder, the right hand resting on his raised knee, clad in opulent jewellery studded with coral and turquoise beads, wearing a lavish crown. 1.2 kg, 15 cm high



with Chiswick Auctions, 18 November 2021, no.178. Ex London gallery stock. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.