Details

LOT 2161

Tek Sing Treasure Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Bowl Group

EARLY 19TH CENTURY A.D.

5 14 - 6 1/4 in. (900 grams total, 13.4-16 cm).

Comprising three bowls: a large bow with painted tendrils and floral motifs; a medium sized bowl with floral motifs to the outer face; a small bowl with densely painted abstract decoration to the outer face, repaired. [3, No Reserve]

Provenance

Ex Nagel Auction, with official Tek Sing Treasure labels to verso.

Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Tek Sing shipwreck.

Footnotes

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.