Shipwrecked! Asian Ceramics Discovered at Sea

Early trade in the eastern seas dates back thousands of years and from the earliest times piracy and treacherous waters caused many a ship to founder. While perishable goods such as textiles and edibles vanished centuries ago, ceramic cargoes frequently endured intact. As maritime archaeology has become more sophisticated over the past thirty years, numerous ceramic cargoes have been excavated in the depths of the South and East China Seas. This exhibition features porcelain and stoneware export wares excavated from Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese shipwrecks that date between the ninth and nineteenth century.

Guest curator Nancy Tingley, Ph.D., is the former Paul L. and Phyllis Wattis Foundation Curator of Southeast Asian Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.