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Medallion 886
The double phoenix medallion is together with the coiled dragon the best center medallion from the Wanli shipwreck. The phoenix was the emblem of the empress and is common in Chinese art. When this divine, beautiful phoenix appears, say legends, the world is peaceful. The phoenix also portrays Daoist yin (phoenix) yang (dragon) theory. Together with the dragon, the phoenix represent a nice pair of Ming dynasty art.
Size: 18 cm in diameter
Price: USD. 840.00
Nanhai Marine Archeology LLC. Delaware. USA.
Ming Dynasty Porcelain Shards from The Wanli (AD. c. 1625) Shipwreck
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Shard Collection 28
Consist of shards from kraak plates, bowls dishes and various other shards including two Chenghua reign marks and a large Bell cup shard.
Price: USD. 130.00
Medallion 1181
This medallion shows a bird on a rock below a flower arrangement. There is also the cloud and the moon which suggest early morning and start of new life. The theme is know to the Chinese as chun guang chang shou which also refers to 'spring time and longevity' All this together connotes the blessing for vibrant youth, healthiness and long life 12.5 cm diameter
Price: USD. 55.00
Medallion 1233
In this medallion the decorator provided the same meaning as in 1181 but replaced the bird with butterflies. The morning cloud and the moon are the same whilst the flower changed from peony (which symbolizes spring time) to camellias (new life in spring time) The rock, since it remains forever, represent longevity
12.5 cm diameter.
Price: USD. 60.00
REST ASSURED OF PROPER AUTHENTICITY!
Sten is a naval architect who spent more than thirty years in Southeast Asia, primarily designing and engineering marine structures. Sten has an academics enthusiasm for ancient ceramics and has written numbers of books and lectured extensively in the subject.
An champion sailor and diver he has discovered a number of shipwreck in the South China Sea and assisted museums world-wide to exhibit and to collect meaningful ceramic collections.
Sten's company; Nanhai Marine Archaeology Sdn. Bhd.. works with Malaysia's Department of Museums and Antiquities and can therefore offer a legal Export Permit from the Department when so required.
Sten has located number of ancient kiln sites in Thailand and in China were his shipwreck ceramics was made centuries ago. He is therefore able to offer absolute provenance on all ceramics sold via Nanhai Marine Archaeology Sdn. Bhd. and, with good concience sign every Certificate of Authenticity supplied with all artefacts.
The maritime archaeology of Sten Sjostrand has led to major advances in the study of Asian trade and trade ceramics in Southeast Asia. His meticulous documentation of a series of nine shipwrecks from the 11th to 19th centuries reveals the early dominance of Chinese trade ceramics, a subsequent loss of the Chinese monopoly in the late 14th century when Southeast Asian ceramics entered the market, the basic parameters of the Ming gap shortages of the 14th-15th centuries, and a resurgence of Chinese wares in the 16th and 17th centuries. Just as important, Sjostrand freely shares the information from his discoveries. Researchers are welcome at his headquarters where he documents his finds and patiently answers the queries of others. A lifetime’s experience with the sea and sailing allows Sjostrand to bring new understanding to ancient ship construction, and his voluminous reading allows him to set the ships and their cargoes in historical perspective.
Dr. Roxanna M. Brown
Director.
Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum
Bangkok University, Rangsit campus
Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand
During the excavation phase of the Wanli shipwreck, about 7,000 pieces of porcelain pieces was registered. Only those pieces which retained more than 50% of its original form was registered while all other pieces was considered "shards". From the 7,000 registered pieces, there were less than 2,000 totally intact pieces with many of them showing glaze deterioration and other defects. In addition to registered artifacts 9,083 kilo "shards" were recovered. This weight was represented by less than 50% intact pieces (to avoid double registration), broken, fragmented and pulverized pieces. These "shards" was then separated into respective types, weighted and compared with the weight of an intact counterpart to find the total number of porcelains originally loaded onboard the ship. It was thus calculated that the total cargo originally consisted of more than 37,000 pieces. Most of the damage to the cargo is believed to have been caused by an fire followed by an explosion which is likely to have been caused by an attacking Dutch force. The fire could also have been set by the Portuguese crew trying to avoid a Dutch capture.
Many of the broken plates with intact center medallions, have since been trimmed and are now available for sale on this page.
Each one of these center medallions has been registered and now displaying its respective serial number on a sticker:
For information about The Wanli Shipwreck or to order the full catalogue about its archaeology and porcelain: The Wanli Shipwreck and its Porcelain Cargo,
TRIMMED CENTER MEDALLIONS FROM KRAAK DISHES, BOWLS AND KRAAK PLATES
To fully understand and appreciate the meaning of these medallion motifs, please Click here
When buying anything from this page you are NOT dealing with antique dealers or other middle men. You will be buying directly from a team of dedicated researchers that excavated, recovered and researched every single piece offered for sale. We encourage you to contact us by email with questions regarding your possible purchase. Write to: Sten Sjostrand
OUR GUARANTEE:
If you are not satisfied with our artifacts, delivery service or; if you obtain an expert opinion that the artefact is not of the age stated by us, just return it and will give you full refund!
THE RECOVERY OF "SHARDS"
Click here to see how tonnes of broken plates, dishes and bowls was recovered together with fragmented and pulverized porcelain. To view other videos and pictures about our work, click here
CLICK ON ABOVE IMAGES TO VIEW ARTIFACTS FOR SALE
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THE ONLY PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE SURE TO BUY GENUINE ANTIQUES
Nanhai Marine Archaeology Sdn. Bhd. was incorporated on the recommendation of the Malaysian authorities. This was done in order to formalize and to expand on the company’s researcher’s extensive knowledge of Asia’s ceramic developments and maritime trade.
The company’s researchers have been engaged in the search for historical shipwrecks for more than two decades and another decade researching maritime trade. Most of this work is concentrated to the South China Sea, a virtual highway for ancient shipping linking China to India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia in an extensive maritime trade system. This ancient trade started sometime around the 4th century and lasted well into the 19th century.
Following a successful shipwreck discovery, the company obtain a government permit to excavate the wreckage, and then carry out detailed marine archaeological procedures in recovering the artifacts, mapping the ship's remains and securing other data for future research. After each concluded project and following conservation of recovered artifacts, we search for and pinpoint ruined kiln sites and compare its wasters with the recovered ceramics until we are satisfied we located the place in which the shipwreck pottery was made centuries earlier.
As such we have precisely located a kiln sites in Sisatchanalai, northern Thailand in which our Royal Nanhai and the Nanyang shipwreck celadon ware was made around AD. 1380-1460. (See videos on: http://www.china-pottery.com/photopage.html ) Other kilns was located in Sukhothai where production wasters matched the fish and flower plates found on the Turiang and the Longquan shipwreck. These unique underglaze decorated wares was made at those exact kilns 600 years earlier! Our latest shipwreck cargo; The Wanli Shipwreck, of Chinese blue and white porcelain, was likewise pinpointed to the Guangyinge kiln site in Jingdezhen, China. (See video on: http://www.china-pottery.com/photopage.html )
Our arrangement with the Malaysian authorities is such that we finance all operations and train young Malaysian nationals (on our initiative) in maritime archaeology and related research. After giving all unique and single artifacts and thirty percent of all recovered items to the National Museum (and assisting with exhibitions of artifacts from each project) we are allowed to sell our portion of the recovery to finance future projects. The findings from ongoing research and the compilation of reports, books and catalogues are available on these pages as well as on a separate Internet site: http://www.maritimeasia.ws
Due to the unquestionable authenticity and precisely dated shipwreck pottery, many International Museums now display our shipwreck pieces as reference material.
The artifacts sold on this website are therefore legally and properly excavated and can be supplied with an export permit from the Department of Museum in Malaysia should this be required. This unique working arrangement makes us one of the few Internet sellers that sell from own excavation and issues a meaningful Certificate of Authenticity for every (numbered) piece sold.
So, if you are interested to purchase some of our Antique porcelain, old time pottery or other shipwreck artifacts from the Song dynasty, Ming porcelain or Chinese blue and white porcelain or the famous Yixing teapots, you can rest assured that every piece is excavated through proper archaeology by our own staff. We do not sell anything that is not excavated by ourselves or properly recorded and researched before offered for sale so every piece comes with the “Best possible provenance”
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO EMAIL OUR PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER; Sten Sjostrand SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR POSSIBLE PURCHASE
A site loaded with information about ancient shipwreck ceramics including; antique porcelain, old time pottery & Chinese porcelain.
Affordable antique porcelain and pottery. These are the cheapest available on the net.
Early Chinese porcelain and pottery from the South China Sea shipwrecks
OTHER INTERESTING WEBPAGES RELATED TO ANTIQUE PORCELAIN, OLD TIME POTTERY, CHINESE PORCELAIN AND OTHER MING POTTERY. ALL OF IT WITH IMPECCABLE PROVENANCE!
Nanhai Marine Archeology LLC Delaware, USA
as agents for Nanhai Marine Archaeology Sdn. Bhd.
25 Jalan Wawasan Jaya. 26 820 Kuala Rompin. Malaysia
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Medallion 1179
A cut center medallion showing one duck (the symbol of marital fidelity) on the rock (long life) below a lotus (the symbol of purity) arrangement with another duck behind the rock.
13 cm diameter
Price: USD. 55.00
Medallion 1305
A unique center medallion showing a basket (shaped and decorated like a lantern) with flowers. Since the basket is set inside a garden fence, it provides a sense of inner tranquility and peace.
Size: 13.5 in diameter
Price: USD. 80.00
Medallion 1182
This medallion shows a bird on a rock below a flower arrangement. There is also the cloud which suggest early morning and start of new life. The theme is know to the Chinese as chun guang chang shou which also refers to 'spring time and longevity' All this together connotes the blessing for vibrant youth, healthiness and long life
13 cm diameter
Price: USD. 55.00
Medallion 1229
This medallion shows a bird on a rock below a flower arrangement. There is also the cloud and the moon which suggest early morning and start of new life. The theme is know to the Chinese as chun guang chang shou which also refers to 'spring time and longevity' All this together connotes the blessing for vibrant youth, healthiness and long life
Size: 12.5 cm diameter
Price: USD. 50.00
Medallion 1227
This center medallion shows three peony flower (symbolizing spring time) painted in 'reserve'. This technique where the painter filled the background rather than the motif is unique and only appeared in two different types of dishes in the shipwreck cargo
Size: 13 cm diameter
Price: USD. 55.00
Medallion 1178
Another center medallion showing a grasshopper on a rock. There is also the common addition of a flower arrangement to indicate 'spring time and longevity' and blessings for youth, healthiness and long life.
13.5 cm diameter
Price: USD. 60.00
These medallions shows a pair of deer's in a landscape with pine tree and fungus. Deer and pine represent 'ever-green through the ages'. The design conveys a wish for life-long vitality and health. Pine is well-known for its tough endurance and therefore symbolizes long life. The deer stands as a symbol for 'happiness and prosperity' because the word for 'deer' is homophone of the word for happiness and prosperity.
Medallion 255 Medallion 1213 Medallion 1216 Medallion 1212
Size: 12 cm diameter Size: 13.5 cm diameter Size: 12.5 cm in diameter Size: 12.5cm in diameter
Price: USD. 23.00 Price: USD. 23.00 Price: USD. 19.00 Price: USD. 23.00
The best of the best
Medallion 883
This coiled dragon medallion is one of the very best center medallions recovered from the Wanli shipwreck. The dragon was the emblem of the emperor and was only allowed to be painted on wares intended for the imperial palace. To the Chinese, dragon is considered to be the primary of four benevolent spiritual animals. Others are the phoenix, the unicorn and the tortoise. The dragon is the ultimate symbol for good fortune. Good glazed surface makes this a unique, rare and valuable piece of Ming dynasty art.
Size: 18 cm diameter
Price: USD. 880.00
Remember that these hand painted medallions represents Ming dynasty painting which, as with all Chinese art, is both traditional and symbolic. As such, the Ming dynasty porcelain decorators always included an auspicious meaning and promising omen in their designs. Individual motifs with acceptable popular symbolism are combined to give more complex messages that often rely on homophones and on words that harmonize in the Chinese language. These Ming dynasty messages in the designs are nonetheless universal wishes for such things as happiness and long life or portrayals of Daoist ideas.
To fully appreciate the painted motifs on below "shards" and center medallions: Click here
Medallion 1265
Another center medallion showing a grasshopper on a rock and an butterfly. There is also the common addition of a flower arrangement to indicate 'spring time and longevity' and blessings for youth, healthiness and long life. The medallion is of very high quality with contrasty, clear, decorations.
Size: 18 cm diameter
Price: USD. 99.00
Shou Lao medallions
These medallions are cut from the bottom of large character bowls on which there are four painted cartouches on the exterior, each depicting two of the Eight Immortals. These cartouches are separated by repeated shou (longevity) characters.
The three medallions offered here feature Shou Lao, the god of longevity, seen riding a crane above crested waves.
Medallion 1247
This medallion shows a bird on a rock below a flower arrangement. A single butterfly add to the decorative theme which is know to the Chinese as chun guang chang shou which also refers to 'spring time and longevity' Together, this theme connotes the blessing for vibrant youth, healthiness and long life. The medallion is painted in a crispy blue color which is clean and contrasty
Size: 19.5 cm diameter
Price: USD. 115.00
Conglomerate W-846
This "sea sculpture" was created by a cannon ball. After prolonged stay on the seabed it corroded and as it expanded, it engulfed nearby artefacts. As such it represent the turmoil on shipwrecks and the devastation from 17th century sea battles between the Dutch and the suffering Portuguese. This attractive piece can be displayed vertically as shown here -or horizontally. A common misperception that the brown-glazed jar (with the lug handle) seen on top of the conglomerate should be older than the surrounding porcelain wares is proven unlikely as all the pieces engulfed in the sculpture must be equally old! To learn more about these times and the suffering of the crew, click here
Size: 15 cm high
Price: USD. 440.00
Medallion 1369
10.5 cm diameter
USD. 125.00
Medallion 1367
102.5 cm diameter
USD. 140.00
Medallion 1340
11 cm diameter
USD. 155.00
Medallion 1374
Among the thousands of plates and dishes in the Wanli cargo, only ONE featured this combination of decoration. The main motif, the double gourd bottle, (symbol of mystery and longevity) together with the artemisia leaf (symbol for health and good fortune and the emblem of Li Tieh Kuai, one of the Eight Immortals) and, tassle, ribbon and the rui lappet ensure that ones "wishes may be granted". With the rui lappets added Buddhist symbolism it seems certain that the medallions future owner will be well looked after for a long time to come!.
Size: 18.5 cm diameter
Price: USD. 730.00
And, these are just as good
Medallion 1376
This medallion has a nice, thick and glossy surface. All the decorations are masterly executed and shows a basket on a table. In the basket is artemisia leaf, peach flowers and peach fruit. A butterfly overhead add spring time to the motif. The theme here, 'spring time and longevity' is represented by a 'miniature landscape' inside the basket with the leaf contributs towards health and good fortune. The peach (Prunus persicus) keeps one healthy since it prevents lung diseases, coughs and rheumatism. Again, the future owner have all blessing for a long, healthy life.
Size: 18 cm in diameter
Price: USD. 590.00
SOLD
SOLD
Scholar medallions
These medallions are cut from the bottom of 14cm diameter scholar bowls which show continuous landscape motifs on the exterior. Traditional scholars were unhappy with the society. They were willing to isolate themselves and study for their own soul and dignity. They were high-hearted, so common people could not easily come into their studies. This isolation is well depicted in these RARE medallions.
The base of these Shou Lao and scholar medallions feature the apocryphal (six character) reign mark of emperor Chenghua (1465-1487)
Medallion 1434
9.5 cm diameter
USD. 95.00
Medallion 1405
9 cm diameter
USD. 90.00
Medallion 1417
9 cm diameter
USD. 85.00
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About apocryphal marks:
The 17 th century Portuguese and Dutch buyers required porcelain wares to have markings of some kind in the base. A letter from the Dutch headquarters in Batavia to their office in Taiwan request in 1610: "It should be seen to that all these afore-noted kinds of porcelain have under the bottom a blue seal, for about this they (the buyers) are very particular."
Since the decorators were not allowed to paint the present emperors reign mark on export wares, they painted the mark of an previous emperor. Such marks are very common and always indicating and earlier production time. The present emperors' reign mark could only be applied to imperial wares ordered by the palace
