#429 • Vietnamese Cu Lao Cham Shipwreck Annamese Ewer

Part of Lunar New Year Royal Family Auction (timed auction by GWS Auctions)

Starting at $1.00

Status: Sold

Est. $45,000-$46,000 Vietnamese 16th C. Cu Lao Cham Shipwreck Annamese White Glazed Ceramic Ewer W/Iron Brown Spots & Dragon Form Handle (From a Vietnamese Royal Family) - This annamese ceramic ewer is decorated with a creamy white glaze along with iron brown cloud splotches, and is finished with a molded dragon form handle. According to our seller, this is an artifact from the Cu Lao Cham shipwreck, which took place off the Hoi An coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea when a trading vessel filled with porcelain vanished without a trace. The wreck was discovered approximately 500 years later in the early 1990s when fishermen began finding broken porcelain in their nets. The excavation began in 1996 and took four years and over 250,000 intact ceramic artefacts were recovered. According to the contract with the Vietnamese government, all pieces unique to the cargo were retained by the government while the remaining 90% was sold at auction in 2000 by Butterfields in San Francisco and grossed over $2.8 million. This piece has excellent investment potential, as it is thought by experts around the world and avid collectors that due to the rapid modernization of Vietnam, Vietnamese antiques will within the next ten years be more valuable than Chinese antiques. According to some of the most expert collectors in the world, what used to sell for hundreds are now selling for tens of thousands. This piece comes from the estate of a Vietnamese Royal Family (the family now lives in the United States, and wishes to remain private as they still have relatives living in Vietnam). Measurements: 12"H x 7"W.