Chinese Wei Female Court Figure

Carved in the round from a single wooden block, figure of an old man advancing with a club over his right shoulder and a fruit(?) in his left hand, barefoot in hunched posture with loosely draped clothing; deep undercutting and pierced work; old dealer's label to base with Arabic legend; small loss to left hand. 613 grams, 26 cm



Ex Scott family collection by descent.

Comprising three powder boxes with painted flowers to the lid. 467 grams total, 75-79 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.

Each a shallow dish with central frond and flowers motif. 1.76 kg total, 17.5-18.5 cm



Ex Nagel Auction, with official Tek Sing Treasure labels to veso. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Tek Sing shipwreck.

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.