Ref: Y441
Archive item - not for sale
Large Chinese blue and white teapot and cover, circa 1640, decorated with birds amongst peony, bamboo and rockwork, the handle with cloudscrolls, height: 9 1/2in., 24.2cm; condition: crack to handle, some adhesions to base and spout, frits to underside of cover and rim. Provenance: From the Hatcher Collection; sold at Christie's Amsterdam 12-13 June 1984. The Hatcher Cargo (1643-1646) was recovered from the wreck of a Chinese junk in the South China seas port of Batavia (today Jakarta), where Chinese cargoes were transhipped to Dutch East Indiamen for their journey to Europe. In 1983 Captain Michael Hatcher and his crew brought up around 25,000 pieces of unbroken porcelain from the Hatcher junk, many of which were sold at Christie's Amsterdam. A date for the cargo was established by the existence in the find of two pieces with the Chinese cyclical date of 1643. For further information see: Sheaf, Colin and Kilburn, Richard, The Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes: The Complete Record, (Christie’s Ltd. 1988). SOLD
