#456 • Vietnamese Hoi An Hoard Shipwreck Large Bowl

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

Starting at $1.00

Status: Sold

Est. $600-$800 Vietnamese Hoi An Hoard Cu Lao Cham Shipwreck Annamese Blue Underglazed Large Shallow Bowl W/Saga Visal Sticker - This large shallow bowl is of circular form and is decorated in underglazed blue with central floral motifs and ogee panels to the exterior. 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 mid to late 15th century 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 dish is labeled with a Saga Visal Hoi An Hoard sticker on the bottom numbered 173574. 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. Ceramics from the Hoi An Hoard are regarded as some of the most precious and complete representations of Vietnamese artisanship in glazed ceramics. Measurements: 2.25"H x 9.25" diameter.