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 53