Kangxi Porcelain from shipwreck discovered Near Indonesia Bintan Island

In 2013, some blue and white wares started to appear in the antique markets in Singapore.  By 2014, large quantities made their way to Singapore, Jakarta, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.   Blue and white cups/saucers constituted the bulk of the items available.  There were also plates, bowls, vases, jars, cover boxes and also ceramics figurines.  The items possess features of Kangxi period porcelain. In fact, the range and types of items were similar to those found in the Ca Mau shipwreck.   According to an Indonesian dealer who is able to read Chinese,  he came across a broken item with the word Kangxi Gengyin Zhong Xia (康熙庚寅仲夏) written on the outer base.   That would date the piece to 1710 A.D and would be useful to date the cargo.  Unfortunately, he did not acquire the piece as it was broken.  The Vung Tau wreck and the ca mau wrecks are dated to 1690s and 1723-1735 respectively.  This particular wreck would be of significant importance as it would fill a gap and provide physical evidence of the type of porcelains that were exported around the 1710s.

Investigation revealed that they came from a wreck located Southeast of Bintan Island.  The wreck is believed to be that of a large Chinese junk which is about 100m in length.  The location is consistent with the route for ancient Chinese junks trading with Southeast Asia.  The final destination of the Junk is most likely Batavia, the old name for Jakarta in Java.  Batavia was the commercial and administrative centre of the Dutch East India Company.  It served as an emporium for goods such as tea, silk and porcelains from China and spices and aromatic products from the Indonesian Islands.  From here, the goods were distributed within the Southeas Asian region and also transhipped to India, Middle East and Europe.

Batavia (modern day Jakarta) 1780 A.D

The Chinese Junks were operated by rich and influential merchants with link to the Governor of Guangdong or the military commander.  That same group of merchants also were granted the right by the court to deal with the foreign traders.  As middlemen operating through their firm termed hong (行), they controlled the foreign trade in Guangzhou.   The foreign traders were confined to stay and conduct their business in the area known as Shi Shanhang (十三行） outside the wall city.  The hong merchants subsequently formed an association in 1720 to further regulate and set the code of conducts for trading with the foreign traders.   They were also responsible for the behaviour of the foreigners and ensure they adhered by the laws during their stay in Canton. Prominent Hong merchants included the Zhang (张), Ye (叶), Cai (蔡), Qiu (邱), Yan (颜), Chen (陈) and Pan (潘) famlies.  In the Ca Mau wreck a seal with the mark "潘廷采印" was recovered. It belonged to a person surname Pan.  It suggested that the ca mau junk could be operated by the Pan family.

Canton (Modern Day Guangzhou)

The VOC was known to have ceased buying porcelain  in the 1690s as it had became unprofitable. In 1690, the VOC Directors asked Batavia not to buy porcelain anymore : "..because private persons have brought so much .... that the Company lost on her own cargoes.".  The non-involvement continued into the 1st quarter of 18th century. The supply of porcelain was undertaken by the private merchants who shipped the procelain back to Netherlands from Batavia on Company ships.

The private merchants did not buy the porcelain direct from Guangzhou but depended on the Chinese merchants to ship the goods to Batavia.  According to estimation, over 2 million pieces were imported yearly to Batavia by means of the junk trade.  60% were sold in the inter and intra  Asian region and the rest to Europe.

The huge European demand for porcelains were basically for 3 purposes: teapots and cups/saucers for drinking tea/coffee, vessels such as bowls/plates for eating and decorative items such as vases and jars. The large quantities of cups/saucers found in the wreck is not coincidental.  Drinking tea and coffee became fasionable in Europe by the early 18th century.  Hence, there was huge demand for cups/saucers used for drinking tea/coffee.  In fact, there were said to be 1500 coffeee houses in London alone, with more across Europe.  In this wreck, there were quite a number of design available.  Basically, 3 categories were found in the wreck: those that are fine and thinly potted with the form further shaped by mould, the more thickly potted type which are comparatively more rough and those more thickly potted type with dark brown glaze on the exterior (more commonly known as Batavian wares).  Majority of the saucers are about 10.5 cm- 11cm and the cup about 6.5 to 7.5 cm in diameter.

Fine and thinly potted cups/saucers

	More thickly potted cups/saucers

More thickly potted brown glaze cups/saucers

There are also some quantity of cups/saucers which are smaller or bigger than those illustrated above. 

Small set with saucer about 8 cm	Small set with saucer about 10 cm
Small set with saucer about 10 cm
Above cups (8.5 cm dia) do come with matching saucers which are bigger than 12 in dia.

Interestingly, there are also small quantity of cups that do not come with saucers.  They are of good quality with fine painting.

Some examples of cups that do not come with saucers

Quite a large number of tea pots were recovered from the wreck.  Many were stacked inside big blue and white jars which are about 60 cm in height.  Four of the most commonly found tea pots are illustrated below.

Blue and white teapots

Since the late 16th century, Chinese porcelain were exported to Europe by the Portuguese and subsequently by the Spaniards and Dutch.  The first type that were collected in significant quantity by the European Court and Nobility were late Ming Wanli Kraak wares.   The vessels were in shape made according to specification by the European customers.  The decorations are typically orgnanised in panels on the vessel. 

A Late Ming Kraak plate from the Wanli wreck discovered near Malaysia

By the first half of 17th century, the Dutch royalty and nobility started furnishing small cabinets  in the Palace and country houses with Chinese and Japanese porcelains.   Queen Mary who married William  III of Orange, who became King of England in 1689, acquired thousands of pieces which she showed in her Dutch and English apartment.  The traveller Nicodemus Tessin who visited  her audience room in Honselaarsdijk,  remarked in 1686  that : " The chimney was full of precious porcelain, part standing half inside it, and so fitted together that one pieces supported each other.".    The fashion spreaded to other European countries, especially Germany and England.  Daniel Defoe, writer famous for his work Robinson Crusoe, further commented that : "The Queen (Mary)  brought in the Cusom or Humour, as I may call it, of furnishing houses with China Ware, which increased to a strange degree afterwards, piling their China upon the Tops of the Ceilings, Scrutores and every Chimneypiece, to the Tops of the Ceilings and even setting -up shelves for their China Ware, where they wanted such Places, till it became a grievance in the expense of it, and even injurious to their families and Estates".

Porcelain Cabinet at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin

The engravings of  interior designs of Daniel Marot (1661-1752) were also instrumental in spreading the new fashion to all over Europe.  He was employed by William of Oranges as an interior decorator to furbish his palaces and houses.  His printed designs of wall sections and chimneypieces showed that large number of cups.saucers, small vases, bottles, teapots, covered pots, figures and other porcelain objects were utilised as part of the decoration. 

Daniel Marot's Print

In the wreck, there is quite a substantial quantity of beakers and vases with cover, height about 30 cm, 26cm and 18 cm respectively.  Most of the them are decorated with underglaze cobalt blue with small quantity with overglaze enamels which have degraded substantially. 

The beakers and vases have matching decoration and are usually grouped into set of 3,5 or 7 to form garniture.

Vase with cover	Beaker
Beakers and vases decorated with motifs organised in cartouches and panels. Typical composition preferred in Europe.
Beaker and vase with Chinese taste decorative composition

There is also large quantity of miniature vases with height about 5.5 to 7 cm.  They are intended for decorative purposes.  An example of how such miniature vases were displayed could be seen in the second photo of the Porcelain Cabinet at Charlottenburg Palace.

Miniature vases

The most impressive items recovered so far are large Jars and Gu Vases which reach a height of about 56-60 cm.  Those decorated with European and Southeast Asian natives are particularly interesting.   On one, we see what is likely the depiction of scene near the gate wall of Canton.  The foreigners were forbidden from entering the city of Canton then.  Their movements were closely monitered and the trading activities were carried out outside the wall city where The Thirteen Hongs (广东十三行) were located.  The English was the first to set up factory in A.D 1715 on the land (outside the Canton city wall) along the river pearl.  By the 2nd half of 18th century, a row of factories each flying the flag of a European country- English, Dutch, French, Swedish, Danish, American, etc, were built.   Those were rented premises which the European traders stocked the good for sale and also their purchases.   Business was conducted for the period around June to January.  After which, the foreigners were required to leave Canton.  For those not returning to Europe, they could stay at Macau.  

Scene outside the walled city of Canton

On the jar, we also see the portrayal of a Chinese Gentlement on a carriage drawn by horses.  It could be a Chinese merchant arriving to conduct transaction with the Europeans.  Another interesting decoration is the scene of a Dutch ship which has the horizontal tricolour flag.  What is also of particular interest is that it shows semi naked sailors with curly hairs, who are most probably Southeast Asian natives.

Large Jar with European figures
Two examples of large Gu vases with European figures
Examples of large Jar and Gu vases decorated with Chinese style motif

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