Tek Sing Blue and White Saucer Dishes

Circular, glazed saucer dishes in blue and white. Each is decorated with a lotus, painted in two concentric bands of petals around a central spiral, with alternate lingzhi-fungus and fruiting peach or flowering lotus sprays. The underside is painted with similar decoration, and the base shows a character.

A. Height 3.2 cm, width 15.5cm.

B. Height 2.6 cm, width 15.5 cm.

Date: Circa late 18th-early 19th century AD
Period: Qing Dynasty
Provenance: From the 1822 Tek Sing shipwreck that was discovered by Michael Hatcher in 1999.
Condition: Very fine condition.

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SKU: AS-1686 Category: Tags: , , ,

The Tek Sing (which means “True Star” in Chinese) was a large Chinese junk, which sank on 6th February 1822 in an area of the South China Sea, known as the “Belvidere Shoals”. Undertaking its attempted journey from Amoy to Jakarta were 1600 emigrants and an enormous cargo, which included silks, spices, and 350,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain. Indeed, some of the cargo was even strapped to the ship’s hull, but its tight packing allowed it to become the largest cargo of Chinese porcelain ever to be salvaged from a wreck.

The great loss of life associated with the sinking has led the Tek Sing to be referred to in modern times as the “Titanic of the East” (cf. Nagel Auctions, ‘Tek Sing Treasures’, 2000, TS 137).

Weight 229.3 g
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Reference: Michael Hatcher, The Legacy of the Tek Sing: China's Titanic - Its Tragedy and Its Treasure, pp127-55, Granta editions. Cf. Nagel Auctions Tek Sing Treasures, 2000. TS48