Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2007 | Page 53
ANTIQUES
life
Chinese
Takeaway
By Philip Hoare
I have recently been asked
to market a collection of
Chinese ceramics. They form
a significant part of the famous
TEK SING treasure of blue and
white Chinese porcelain, the
largest cargo of its kind ever
recovered from the ocean.
In 1822 the TEK SING (true
star) the largest Chinese Trading
Junk ever built set sail fully
laden, probably weighing over a
thousand tons, from the port of
Amoy for her voyage to Jakarta.
At her prow were painted two
enormous oculi, large staring
eyes to ward off evil spirits
and sea demons. She carried
a huge cargo of consumer
goods, in the lower holds.
The ceramics were of a huge
variety for every purpose; teapots,
plates, dishes, cups, saucers,
ginger jars and ornaments,
mostly of recent production
but also antiques from the 17th
and 18th Century. In the holds
above came the huge variety of
products; silks and other exotic
fabrics, lacquer wares, bamboo
furniture, tortoiseshell and ivory
carvings, herbs and spices.
China was already one of
the main suppliers of goods to
Europe and much of this cargo
would have been traded on
to the Dutch once it reached
Jakarta (a Dutch Colony). Apart
from the vast consumer cargo
she carried consumables and
medicines for sale to the large
Chinese population in Indonesia.
When she set sail, apart from
her huge cargo she carried
almost 2,000 passengers and
crew. Her captain was a very
experienced seaman, Io Tauko,
who had made this voyage
on numerous occasions.
A few hours after her journey
began she sailed in company
with a smaller junk bound for
the same destination. However,
for some unknown reason,
probably because of threat of
attack by pirates to which the
Tek Sing as a very slow boat
would have been very vulnerable.
The captain made the fateful
decision to deviate from the
proven route and take a short
cut through the Gaspar Straits; a
simpler and quicker passage.
Whatever the explanation it was
a disastrous one. On the morning
of 7th February 1822 under full
sail Tek Sing struck a reef with
great force and went down very
quickly with enormous loss of
life; in fact greater loss than that
of the Titanic. The other junk in
spite of witnessing the calamity
sailed on leaving the unfortunate
victims to their fate. Fortunately,
an American vessel, the Indiana,
under the command of Captain
Pearl was shortly on hand, and in
spite of the danger rescued 190
persons ‘a truly Christian act’.
For over 170 years this tragedy
was forgotten until in 1990
when one of the world’s leading
shipwreck salvor experts,
Michael Hatcher, an Australian,
re-discovered the wreck and
successfully brought this rare and
fascinating cargo to the surface.
Commercially, things have
not changed a great deal. The
Chinese still transport their huge
variety of wares throughout the
world; the products may have
changed and the method of
transport now in huge container
ships instead of wooden junks
and the quantities much greater.
However, the interesting thing is
that now the Chinese are such
a rich economy the ‘curios’ they
once sold to Europe and America
have become desirable and
collectable and in many cases
seriously valuable and they are
anxious to buy them back.
During the last three years
there has been a huge increase
in the value of most Chinese art
particularly ceramics. If you are
fortunate enough to own antique
Chinese art you should consider
appraising its value since in many
cases the increases in worth
have been quite extraordinary.
For further information on the
Tek Sing treasure and Chinese
art, email Philip Hoare at
[email protected]
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net
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