Tek Sing Cargo c1822 Chinese Shipwreck Porcelain Hare Bowl

  

Tek Sing Cargo c1822 Chinese Shipwreck Porcelain Hare Bowl. A blue and white circular ogee shaped bowl, hand painted to the interior well with a hare within a wide band of three panels containing tasselled scrollwork alternating with a linear bead and net design to the rim. The exterior is painted with stylised characters of chrysanthemum and bamboo leaves. The base with a stylised character. Size: Height: 5.8cm Diameter: 16.3cm Condition: Marine residue and light marine staining throughout.

The coral is for display purposes only and does not come with this item. Scanned copies relating to this dish will be supplied from the sale catalogue that I own. The Tek Sing (True Star) was a large ocean going Junk, 60 meters in length. She set sail from Amoy harbour in China, bound for Batavia (now Jakarta) on the island of Java. On board were merchants, crew and 1600 passengers, bringing the total close to 2000 people.

The cargo holds were packed with over 300,000 pieces of porcelain, along with black and green teas, raw silk, bamboo furniture, mother of pearl, tortoiseshell and medicinal herbs. About two weeks into the voyage, the Captain attempted a shorter route through the treacherous Gaspar Strait and on the evening of February 5. The Tek Sing ran aground on the Belvidere Reef and sank with a loss of almost 1800 lives (more than the Titanic). Its incredible cargo of porcelain has been the largest and most varied recovered.

It was auctioned in Stuttgart, Germany over a ten day period in November 2000. The treasure was salvaged by Captain Michael Hatcher, the most successful underwater treasure hunter of our time. He has raised a number of precious cargoes from exotic locations which included the legendary Nanking Cargo in 1986.