China, Empire. A Three-Piece Set of Porcelain Recovered from the Geldermalsen; The Nanking Cargo, c. 1752

A well preserved three-piece set of porcelain dishes recovered from the Geldermalsen in 1985 after being under water for 235 years, consisting of two small cups and one plate. 

1. Plate. A small porcelain plate, depicting a blue-and-white pattern of a small house on the edge of a cliff, with a glossy finish, the reverse with a paper label reading “Christie’s Lot (Lot # Stricken through) - The Nanking Cargo”, measuring 100 mm in diameter, with a moderately-sized chip along the rim.

2. Cup. A small porcelain tea cup, depicting a blue-and-white pattern of a two-storey building surrounded by trees on the edge of a cliff, with a glossy finish, the reverse with a paper label reading “Christie’s Lot (Lot # Stricken through) - The Nanking Cargo”, measuring 63 mm in diameter, with a few small chips to the rim.

3. Cup. A larger porcelain tea cup depicting a blue-and-white pattern of multiple trees , with a glossy finish, the reverse with a paper label reading “Christie’s Lot 5674 - The Nanking Cargo”, measuring 74 mm in diameter, with a hairline crack along the length of the cup.

With an accompanying Certificate of Authenticity by the Man of War with facsimiles from J.R. Heslin and T.J. Hiron

A fine collection of porcelain goods from the Geldermalsen previously sold at Christie’s Auction, in as-found condition.

Footnote: The Geldermalsen was a merchant vessel owned by the Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company). The ship was built in 1747, arrived in Canton (Guangdong) China on July 21st, 175 and was loaded with tea, gold, raw silk, as well as Chinese export porcelain. It departed for the Netherlands on December 18th of the same year, and sank after only 16 days at sea, on January 3rd, 1752, in the South China Sea on its way to Amsterdam via Indonesia. The sunken vessel was found 233 years later in 1985 by Michael Hatcher. After over ten weeks of working in hazardous conditions, approximately 150,000 pieces of “white and blue” porcelain were recovered from the vessel.  The haul was brought to Amsterdam, where it was auctioned by Christie’s in 1986. It performed extremely well due to the impeccable condition of the porcelain dishes recovered from the vessel. It is believed that the reason the porcelain goods survived is due to the wares being packed in tea, which protected the valuable cargo from the ravages of salad and sand.