Ref: Y829
Archive item - not for sale
Matched pair of Chinese 'Hatcher Cargo' blue and white ovoid jars and covers, mid 17th century, one decorated with sprays of peony, lotus, cherry blossom and butterflies, the other with flowering lotus, peony, prunus and grasses, height: approx. 11in., 28cm; Provenance: From the Hatcher Collection; sold at Christie's Amsterdam 12-13th 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 Christies 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). Two similar jars and covers recently sold at Christie's New York, 18 January 2017. SOLD
