First created 28 Jul 2013. Version 2.0 - 1 Aug 2016. Jerry Tse. London.

Asian Maritime TradeA History of Wealth, Power & the

Mariners

An impression of a Zhenghe’s Treasure ship and a statue of a Ming military officer in Wat Phra Kaeo (Royal Temple), Bangkok, Thailand.

EvidencesBlack Death

The outbreak of the Black Death in Europe in 1338, reminds us of the trade links between Europe and Asia.

CoinsArchaeologists found many coins in foreign lands, in particular Roman coins in India.

Spreading of Black Death in 14C, Europe

Roman gold coins found in Pudukottai, India. One coin of Caligula (37-41 AD) and two coins of Nero (54-68 AD). British Museum. London.

A Yongle coin 1403-1425, Ming Dynasty was found in the Island of Manda, Kenya by an US team from the University of Illinois, Chicago in Feb 2013.

A Byzantine gold coin of Justin I (518-527 AD). Excavated in 1988 at the Xianyang International Airport, Xian, China.

EvidencesCeramic

Green-splashed white dish with incised décor and bowl. 9C. Ceramic. Tang Dynasty, China. Samerra Museum for Islamic Art Berlin.

Chinese (Tang Dynasty) ceramics found in Iraq.

The stele records the arrival of Nestorian Christian (from Syria now) in China from the Roman Empire in 636. The stele was erected in 781. Xian Stele Museum, China. Photo Taken in May 1984

EvidencesIndian Buddhist monks reached China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD).

Travellers’ Tales

Marco Polo escorted the daughter of Kublai Khan to Persia for marriage, with a fleet of 14 ships, stopping at Borneo, Sumatra, Ceylon and Persia, between 1293 and 1295.

The journey of Cosmas Indicopleustes, a merchant & Christian monk, who sailed between Alexandria and India around 550 AD.

Nestorian Christian from Syria arrived in China in 636 CE.

Chinese history is full of tales of travelling monks. The most well-known is Xuanzang of Tang Dynasty.

Shipwrecks

Map Ref – http://koh-antique.com

Until recently, most of our information on the Asian maritime trade comes from documented sources like books, treaties and history. Since the last quarter of the 20C, under sea archaeology has provided us with new understandings and perceptions of the maritime history. Most of the wrecks examined came mainly from east and southeast Asia. Following slide is a list of the important finds, recently.

Evidences

Shipwrecks

Belitung 826

Nanhai One 南海１號 1160

HuaGuangJiao One 華光礁 13C

Quanzhou 泉州 1272

Turiang 1305-70

Godawaya 2C BC

Indonesia. 1998. Dhow carried mainly Chinese ceramics. (length 18m, width 5.6m. DWT 35 tons).

South China Sea. 1987. Chinese junk carried mainly Chinese ceramics from Guangzhou. (length 30.4m, width 9.8m, 3.5m height. est DWT 300 tons).

Xinsha Is. China. 1996. Chinese junk carried mainly ceramics. (length 20m, width 6m, 3-4m height. 60 tons).

Quanzhou Fujian China. 1973. Chinese ship carried incense wood. Spices and coins. (length 24.2m, width 9.2m. Displacement 200 tons).

Found off the coast of Malaysia Peninsula in 1998, the Chinese Turiang wreck of 1305-1370 carried Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese ceramics. (length c26m).

Sri Lanka. 2008. Ship type unknown carrying Black & Red ware.

Evidences

Nan Han 南漢 Cirebon 968Indonesia. 2004. Probably a dhow carried mainly Chinese wares. (length 30m, width 12m. Payload 200-300 tons).

Shinan 1323Korea. 1976. carried ceramic (mainly), wood and coins (7 million). Another Korea wreck Wando ship (1050-1100). 1984. 30000 Chinese celadon ceramics. (length 32-36m. 200 tons).

Below is a list of the pre-15C finds, in recent years.

West Asian Maritime Trade

In 1503-1480 BC the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut sent a maritime expedition to the land of Punt thought to be lands around the exit of the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean.

Egypt

A reconstruction of a 20m long Hatshepsut’s ship built in 2009. It has a cargo capacity of about 17 tones and travels between 5 and 9 knots. The voyage took the ship from Egypt to Sudan.

West Asian Maritime TradeWhen Roman took over the city of Alexandria, Egypt in 80 BC, they found the port earned an enormous amount of revenue. Soon the Roman initiated trading voyages from Egypt to India. Alexandria became the greatest commercial centre of the world. The currency of exchange was gold. Spices were the major commodity for the trade. Judging by the amount of Roman coins in India and the concerns of Roman politicians on the loss of gold and silver buying silk, the traffic must be been substantial.

Imperial Rome

1500 years later after Hatshepsut, the port of Alexandria in was the world’s busiest in Roman times.

Ref – National Geographic Jul 2011

West Asian Maritime Trade – RomanThere were some 40 ports in west India trading with Rome. In 2005 the ancient port of Muziris was rediscovered. Amphorae (Mediterranean pottery jars) and glass were found. Recently the 2C BC Godawaya wreck was discovered in the water of Sri Lanka yielding large jars of Black and Red Ware of Mediterranean origin and glass ingots. Diplomatic relations between Rome and south India are known to historians. The main exports of India were pearls, herbs, spices, pepper, sesame oil and sugar to Rome.

India

Large jar from the Godawaya wreck, Sri Lanka on the bottom of the sea. Glass ingots, Godawaya wreck.

Glass beads from Muziris, (modern day Pattanam).

It was said that apostles Thomas went to India. The Syrian Christian church had established links with India, thought to be about 4C. Jews went to India about a few hundred years earlier around 5C BC. Today a sizable of Christians and Jews still live in this part of India.

West Asian Maritime Trade – Gulf India

A modern day synagogue in Kochi, Kerala, South India.

By 7C powerful empires were established on each ends of the Asian maritime trade, the Islamic empires in the west the Tang Dynasty in the east. Once again we saw the maritime trade flourishing, as well as the trade on the Silk Road. The trade with south Indian ports on western coast shifted to Sri Lanka, which became a trading hub.

West Asian Maritime Trade

In the 3rd century we saw the declined of the Roman Empire. The Middle East was under the control first by the Persian and followed by Islam. The maritime trade in the western Asia were in the hands of the Persian, Arab and the Indian.

Arabs & Persian

Dish with cobalt blue in-glaze, developed in the Middle East and painted with a palmette design. 9C. Found in Barsa, Iraq. Collection Unknown.

Dish with cobalt blue in-glaze mixed with a green in-glaze developed in Tang Dynasty, China. 9C. Found in Barsa, Iraq, from the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum. London. How did the Chinese green glaze got onto an Iraqi dish? This shows the complexity of the trading relationship once existed.

The Dhow

Reconstruction of an early dhow Sohar in 1980-81. It sailed from Oman to Guangzhou, China. Such a ship was capable of making trans-ocean voyages from the Gulf to E Africa, India, SE Asia and China, carrying Arab and Persian traders to Guangzhou during the Tang dynasty (618-907). This dhow is double-ended and it is called a ‘boom’. It has a displace of about 200 tons.

History from the Sea. P Throckmorton p157

Detail Knowledge of the World pre-1500

The maps show explorations undertook by different regions of the world before 1500. The darker colours indicate detail knowledge of areas. The lighter colours show some knowledge either by observations or from reports. The

lines shows the routes of the known explorers. The Times Complete History of the World, 8th Ed published in 2010..

IndiaIndia Maritime Power

Situated between the European and Middle East civilisations in the west and the Chinese civilisation in the east, the Indian sub-continent occupied an unique position on the maritime trade route. Apart from acting as staging post or as a trading centre, there were attempts to control this lucrative trade by extending their influence and by the use of their maritime naval power, eastward into the power vacuum in Southeast Asia. From the beginning from the 7C, at two major Indian maritime empires occupied this area controlling the trade around the Malacca strait and Java – Srivijaya Empire and the Chola Empire.

Eastern Maritime Trade IndiaThe maritime material history of Indian is less visible than its military and cultural influences on SE Asia. The Hindu and Buddhist influences are plain to see in the ruins of Thailand’s Ayutthaya (1351-1767), Burma's Bagan temples (1044-1287), Cambodia’s Angkor temples (800-1300) and the Javanese Borobudur (early 9C). As in the west, we also see the rises and falls of powers on the back of the maritime trade.

Chinese fishing nets in Kerala, India. It was suggested that the net was introduced by the Chinese explorer Zhenghe. Recent research shows that these were introduced by the Portuguese Casado (married one) settles from Macau.

Ref : Deepa Leslie, St Alberts College, Ernakulam on http://enchantingkerala.org/

India Maritime Power

Srivijaya (650-1377) was an Indianised maritime power based on Sumatra & the Malay Peninsula. It was succeeded by the Javanese maritime power of Majapahit (1293-1527). By the time the Chinese admiral Zhenghe visited the same area in c1405, he fought off the Chinese pirate Chen Zuyi’s fleet, killing more than 5000 pirates. (see slide for Srivijaya).

Srivijaya

The Borobudur ship is an 8C double outrigger sailing vessel, depicted on a bas relief on the Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java, Indonesia. This sort of ships could be used to carry spices from the more remote Spice Islands to the busy ports of Sumatra and Java.

The Borobudur Outrigger

A reconstruction of the Borobudur ship, which sailed from Indonesia to Madagascar, Durban (South Africa) and onto Ghana in 2003-2004. showing that long-distance trade was possible. It maybe this sort of ships that took Tamil or Srilankan to Sumatra and established the Srivijaya Empire. Today the ship is housed in the Samudra Rasksa Museum at the Borobudur Archaeological park.

Maritime Empire - Srivijaya (650-1377)

Srivijaya (650-1377) was mentioned by a Chinese monk, Yijing 義淨 in 671 AD. He stayed there for 6 months. Srivijaya was the first major maritime and commercial Tamil power in the area, based on Sumatra. It controlled a string of ports from southern Thailand coast down the Malaysian peninsula to Sumatra and Java. Thus ruled the eastern end of the sea route to China. It flourished on the maritime trade between India and China, providing stopping ports for the passing ships and also acting as entrepôts for India and Chinese traders. Its main foreign interest was nurturing lucrative trade agreement with the Tang dynasty and Song dynasty of China. Also it provide a stop-off point for the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims.

Borobudur is a 9C Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Central Java. It is Srivijaya most well-known monument.

Maritime Empire - Chola

The maritime empire, Chola began send naval expeditions into Southeast Asia in 1025, conquering the maritime power of Srivijaya and its harbour cities on Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. At its greatest extent, it controlled the Indian Ocean around India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, in the west and the Malacca Strait & the Java Sea. Thus allowing Tamil merchant and their associations to expand into Southeast Asia. The Cholas are known to benefitted from piracy, plundering as well as foreign trade.

Chola produced great art and architecture, but they left no monument in Southeast Asia (none I can find). This is the great temple they built at Gangikonda Cholapuram, in Tamil Nadu, around the 11C.

The rise of Malacca

Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511. Tome Pires reported c1515 4-5,000 Gujarati mariners sailed to the city. (Ref The Strait Chinese by Khoo Joo Ee).

Asian Maritime Trade

Malacca was founded in about 1380 by a fleeing descendent of the maritime Srivijaya power, which was defeated by the Javanese maritime Singhasari.

In the middle of 15C, Malacca became an international entrepot for the Chinese trades (mainly ceramics) as well as the spice trade. It is beneficially located on the weather system boundary between the Monsoon of Indian Ocean and Tropical Typhoon of the South China Sea.

Malacca became a regional power and its success also bought conflicts with the Thailand’s Ayuthaya and later with the Vietnamese Champa

The Dutch bastion in Malacca was built on top of an earlier Portuguese fortification. Taken on Oct 2011.

The Asian maritime was a strong factor in the rises and falls of empires. In the 10C Venice & Genoa was prosperous, on the trades with Levant and Constantinople. The bitter rivalry ended with defeat of Genoa in 1381. Venice financed the Crusader, which eventually lead to the destruction of Byzantine Empire which was a rival of Venice.

At the end of the 15C, the Portuguese, Vasco de Gamma discovered the sea route to India. This led to the decline of Venice and the Ottoman empire. Eventually Portuguese was replaced by the Dutch and then by the British. The coming of Colonial Age saw creation of the British Empire. During this time trades were widened by the introduction of goods like tea & porcelain.

Asian Maritime Trade – European European

In 1549, the entire Portuguese community of Quanzhou, Fujien was massacred. This eventually led to the founding of the Portuguese colony of Macau in 1557. This is the Macau’s landmark, the façade of St Paul’s built in 1602-40. Taken Dec 2005.

Studies in genetics tell us about ancient migrations. Maritime voyages and explorations are as old as human existence.

There are records of contact between the Han Dynasty with India and Middle East. Contact with Southeast Asia and Han Dynasty was established, as cloves (only grew in Moluccas, Indonesia) were used as breath sweeteners and for the relief of toothache .

Most Chinese are familiar with the story of the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang sending a fleet to Japan in search of the elixir of life, in 219 BC and 210 BC.

Japan was first mentioned in Chinese history in 57 AD. The Han emperor gave a golden seal to Japan, The seal was rediscovered in Japan in 1784.

King of Na Gold Seal. 57 AD. Fukuoka Art Museum. Rediscovered in 1784 on Shikanoshima Island, Fukuoka.

Han 202 BC-220 ADEast Asian Maritime Trade

During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the capital Xian had a section of the city set aside for the Silk Road inhabitants. Trading on the Silk road was expanded by the regular maritime trades to Sri Lanka and occasionally to the Middle East and Africa. The traditional trades with Japan and SE Asia also flourished as the Tang Dynasty grew stronger. Watertight cabins in ships were introduced

Chinese Maritime Trade

In the 4C Chinese monk Faxian (c337-422, Eastern Jin Dynasty) returned from Sri Lanka to China Laoshan Shandong.

Tang 618-907

The Huaisheng Mosque 懷 聖 also known as the Lighthouse Mosque 光塔寺 Guangzhou. It was thought that the mosque was founded about 1300 years ago (c700 AD), in the Tang Dynasty. The mosque was rebuilt in 1350 and in 1695 after a fire. The minaret was built earlier and may have served as a beacon for ships. If the dates are true then it is one of the oldest mosques in the world.

In 7C some 200,000 Persians, Arabs, Indians, Malays and others lived in the city of Guangzhou as traders, artisans and metal workers. In 878, 120000 Jews, Christians Muslims were killed by Huang Chao in Guangzhou, reported by Abu-Zayd of Siraf, a 10C Arab writer. (ref When China Ruled the Seas. p39).

Chinese Maritime Trade during Tang However, it is difficult to establish the extent of Chinese mariners’ involvement in the trade at this period. We do have documented evidences that Chinese sailors sailed from Guangzhou to East Africa between 785-805. There were a lot of overseas traders in Guangzhou and in Xian. A fair amount of Tang goods had found their way to the Middle East. This set off a competitions in ceramic techniques between the two areas.

Tang

A glazed pottery figurine of a black boy with curly hair. 7-8C. Tang (618-906). British Museum London. A pair of similar if not identical figurines can also be seen at the Heritage Museum, Shatin, Hongkong. African were brought to Guangzhou China as slaves by Arab. They were used as slaves.

Taken on Aug 2013.

Reference. Chinese Civilization In A New Light. Vol 6 – Tang Dynasty p61, published by the Commercial Press, Hong Kong. See also ‘The Importation of Negro Saves to China Under the Tang Dynasty’, by Professor Chang Hsing-lang, published in Catholic University of Peking, Bulletin No. 7. December, 1930 p 37-59.

Fortunately, we do have a very important Arab wreck carrying Tang’s goods (825 AD), found near the Belitung Island in the Java Sea. (see later slides).

Chinese Maritime Trade - Song

During the Song Dynasty, China saw the development of the night markets and its maritime trade took off, in particular during the Southern Song (1127-1279), when it lost access to Silk road. The main trade was the ceramic trades with SE Asia & India.

In 952 the first trade between China and Philippines was recorded. Traders from Mindoro brought their goods to Guangzhou. A permanent Chinese navy was established, during the Song Dynasty. The maritime trading network with Japan was strengthened, centred around Ningbo and Hangzhou on Chinese east coast.

Song 960-1279

Origins of wares and location of Nan Han Cirebon wreck found in the Java Sea, a Five Dynasties (907-979) or early Song ship lost around 970, was discovered in 2005. It carried 260,000 pieces of trade goods, mostly ceramic ~100,000 pieces, but included glassware, terracotta, metal and metalware, spices, semi-precious stones, jewellery, tin, iron ores and arsenic. It carried ceramic from south China, glassware from the Middle East, metalware from China, goods from SE Asia and India.

Ref: “Five Dynasty Treasures : Chinese Ceramics found in Indonesian Cirebon Shipwreck” by Lim Yah Chiew. Southeast Asian Ceramic Society.

List of Chinese Kilns Kilns

Clusters of kilns around Guanzhou and Chaozhou are missing on the map. Kilns were used to produce low cost ceramic for exports . Ref – Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Chinese Maritime Trade - Song

Trade between the Song and Korea was frequent. Large quantities of goods were traded, mainly from the northern ports of Hangzhou and Ningbo.

1087 Song Dynasty established an office in Quanzhou 泉州 to regulate maritime trade. The incomes of Southern Song government was 4 times that of Northern Song. At times it contributed 15% of government incomes.

Song 960-1279

Granite Luoyang bridge in Quanzhou was completed in 1059 with ship like piers.

A series of kilns were developed around Guangzhou 廣 州 , the southern gateway to maritime trade. Their costs were lower because of their proximity to the port. Guangzhou lost its dominance to Quanzhou, as official policy shifted in favour of Quanzhou. The trade in Chaozhou 潮州 also suffered because of pirates.

In 997 some 3000 government ships were launched. Even in the turbulent year of 1128 Southern Song managed to produce 2000 ships in the year. A series of ship building technologies of haul and rudder designs were made.

NingboHangzhou

Quanzhou

Chaozhou

Guangzhou

Chinese Junk

An impression of Chinese ocean going Junk. According to Marco Polo such ship has 13 compartments and can carry 150-300 crews, making frequent voyages to the India Ocean.

History from the Sea. P Throckmorton p159

Chinese Maritime Trade - Yuan

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) with the Mongol empire stretching from Asia to Europe, the land and maritime trade routes were given new impetus. Yuan and Ming courts sent an unprecedented number of diplomatic missions to South India by sea. India was the chosen destination of the first two Zhenghe expeditions.

First historical contact between Indonesia and China was the Invasion of Java by the Mongols in 1293 with a thousand ships. The first Chinese traders arrived on Ternate and Tidore in Maluku (Moluccas) Islands to buy cloves and were later driven out by Javanese traders.

Yuan 1271-1368

We also saw the rise of Japanese pirates activities.

Princess Taiping – a 14C warship replica built in 2008, with craftsmen from Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. It sailed from Hong Kong on a trans-Pacific voyage to Vancouver and San Francisco, stopping in Taiwan and Japan. The ill fated junk was sunk after a collision with a Liberian tanker, on its return voyage off the coast of Taiwan,

Photo taken by Wellwin Kwok.

In 1351 Wu Jian recorded 7 mosques in Quanzhou, indicating a sizable Muslim population there.

Chinese Maritime Trade - MingEarly Ming Dynasty saw the seven expedition voyages (1405-1433) of Zhenghe 鄭和 to the Southeast Asia, India, the Gulf and Africa, with a gigantic fleet. After the expeditions, conservative official gained power at the Ming court and banned maritime trades. However illegal maritime trades continued.

Ming 1368-1644

Ref : Philip’s Atlas of World History.

The first 3 voyages visited SE Asia, Sri Lanka and India. The next three voyages extended to the Gulf and East Africa. The 7th voyage was the most extensive with subsidiary voyage into the Red Sea. Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He

Ming 1368-1644Zheng He voyages 1405-33

A model of Zhenghe’s Treasure ship built in 2005 at the Treasure Boat Shipyard site in Nanjing, with 63.3m long. On the left is the inside of the ship.

Zhenghe’s voyages were the greatest maritime expeditions in Chinese history. Between 1404 and 1407, 1681 ocean going ships were ordered by the Ming court. In 1405 expedition some 27800 men were sailing with a fleet 62 Treasure ships supported by approximately190 smaller ships. The fleet was composed of nine-mist Treasure ships for passengers, Equine ships for horses and tribute goods, Supply ships, six –mist Troop ships, Fuchuan 福船 ships for general purpose carriers, patrol boats with oars and Water Tankers for carrying fresh water.

The Treasure ships were used as passenger ships for the royal families, foreign dignitaries, diplomats, officers and including entertainers. As none of the Treasure ships is found, the size of the ship is a controversy. The upper limit for the ship is put at 140m in length and the lower limit is between 61m to 76m. Estimates for DWT varies wildly from 800 tons to 7000 tons !!!

Rulers of Calicut, Cochin, Java and Melaka visited the Ming court.

Chinese Maritime Trade - QingVasco de Game reached India in 1497. Portuguese reached Malacca in 1509 and established trading in Guangzhou in 1517. The arrival of European changed trades in Asia, which is beyond the scope of this slideshow.

During Qing Dynasty, Chinese ceramic had reached a new peak of excellence. Arrival of the European also open new markets and new demands. The European trade in tea rocketed. A new kind of ship were built by the British, called the clippers.

Qing 1644-1911

An engraving on a London newspaper showing boxes of tea off loading from a clipper (background), about 1000 ton sailing ship without engine.Illustrated London News. October 1867.

Armorial Plate. Chinese export porcelain. c1745.Collection of Ughrooke House.

Exports

The spice trade was the oldest and the most important trade. It was the motive for the European to find a sea route to Asia.

The silk trade was also very old. Its importance to the maritime trade was more difficult to determine. Since c522, Arabs began to manufacture silk and later by Byzantium in the 6C. There are still silk factories operating in Turkey today.

The Indian textile trade was very popular. It was exported to Europe, Middle East and SE Asia. The trade declined only when the industrial weaving textile appeared.

The second most important trade was the ceramic trade. In particular around 7C, when Chinese maritime trade flourished. Large amount of ceramic were discovered in wrecks. The trade was also boosted by the arrival of the European.

Tea drinking became popular during the Song Dynasty. The trade in tea ballooned when the British adopted the habit .

Spices

Metal

IvoryRhino hornAnimal skins

Ceramic

GlassMetalwareFrankincensePearlsCeramic

Iron

Ceramic

SpicesTextileGemsIronIvory

PerfumesHerbsPigmentsSandalwood

SpicesCeramicSilkTea

MetalwareBambooGunpowder

RiceCamphor

Goods

GoodsSpice Ginger - India China

Tamarind - India

Saffron - India

Coriander – Europe,

Middle EastNutmeg, Mace

- MoluccasCloves -

Moluccas

Cinnamon – Sri Lanka

Turmeric - India

Cumin - East Mediterranean

Pepper - India

Betal nut – Tropical Asia,

E Africa

Star Anise – China

Chilli – IndiaFrankincense, myrrh, other aromatic resin –

Arabia and E Africa

Taken on Aug 2013.

GoodsSpices were as precious as gold in the Middle Ages in Europe and were needed to preserve surplus foods. Empires rose and fought for the control the trades. The European colonialism, with its historical consequences arose from it. It bought enormous wealth to many. The spice trade was the oldest and lasted the longest. As the trade network grew, other commodities were traded, textile, silk, ceramic, tea etc. Today India still produces 86% of the world spices, followed next by China with 4% of the production.

Spice

Taken by Jason Pitcher.

The modern Spice Bazaar of Istanbul erected in 1660. The rents from the shops went to support the mosque.

Ship Types Ships

The Belitung was an Arabic dhow. It was sailing on its return journey from China in 826 AD, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The ship sank off the coast of Belitung island, Indonesia, by Sumatra.

Belitung – 826 AD Wreck

The Jewel of Muscat is a reconstruction of the Belitung dhow. Left – crew eating on board and a diagram of the dhow.

Its main cargo was ceramics manufactured in Changshan 長沙 . Together with a varieties of metal ware from lead ingots to solid gold cup. Some 60,000 artefacts were salvaged.

The wreck was discovered in 1998. The entire salvaged cargo was sold for $32m to the Sentosa Development Corporation and the Singaporean Government. Today the dhow, the Jewel of Muscat and the artefacts salvaged from the wreck are housed at the Maritime Experiential Museum of Singapore.

Jewel of Muscat - 2010

The Jewel of Muscat is a reconstruction of the Belitung dhow. The dhow is 18m long, 6.4m wide. Weight of boat is 20 tons and a load of 35 tons of cargo and crews. The dhow took 138 days to sail from Muscat to Singapore at a average speed 3.7 kph.

Dhow

Artefacts

Belitung – 826 AD

Lobed silver parcel-gild boxes. Large lidded Jar.

Bowl from the Changsha Kilns, the earliest known ‘Blue and White porcelain in China. Painted flora lozenge motif on disk also from Changsha.

Usually nearly 95% some 55000 pieces of the ceramic carried by the dhow were from Changsha kilns. On a bowl it was inscribed with a date “16th day of the 7th month of the 2nd year of the Baoli reign” or 826 AD. It included the early Chinese ‘Blue & White’ porcelain.

Another surprise were the amount of metal wares. There were 29 bronze mirrors. There were also silver boxes and plate, with several gold pieces.

Artefacts

Ewer with Dragon-head spout & Feline handle (H 104 cm).

Dragon Medallion Bowl (D 15 cm).

Large Lidded Jar (H 39 x D 35 cm).

There were some 200 pieces of white-glazed earthenware with green paint décor. All dated around same time as the wreck. There were several suggestions where the wares were manufactured. The most accepted origin is Gongxian kiln in Henan province. Others were Changsha Hunan or Yaozhou, Shanxi etc.

Belitung – 826 AD

Artefacts

Star anise (Star spice) from China found in storage jar. c825-50. Tang Dynasty, China. Credit –M Flocker.

Belitung – 826 AD

Artefacts

Lead ingot stored in Jar. Belitung wreck

In the 7th-8th century, Yangzhou 揚州 was the home of many Arab and Persian merchants. During the An Shi Rebellion of 760, thousands of them were massacred and their wealth were looted by Tien Shen-kung’s 田神 功 rebel insurgents. Eventually, the looted gold and silver treasures were offered to the emperor as tributes.

Ref: Wikipedia on Yangzhou and Shipwreck published by the Arthur M Asckler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, the National Heritage Board, Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board in 2010. p221.

Belitung – 826 AD

Bronze mirror with lions and grapevine design. c825-50. Dia 12.5 cm. Tang Dynasty, China. There were 29 bronze mirror found at the wreck. Originally the mirrors were highly reflective silver but turned black in time. One mirror identified itself to be made in Yangzhou.

Artefacts Belitung – 826 AD

Artefacts

Four-lobed Silver Bowl (with a Rhino detail). c825-50. Silver. Tang Dynasty, China.

Belitung – 826 AD

Artefacts

Oval Lobed Gold Bowl (Two geese at the centre. detail). c825-50. Tang Dynasty, China. H 3 x L 15.5 x W 10.2 cm. Probably manufactured in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China. ArtScience Museum. Singapore.

Belitung – 826 AD

Artefacts

A large octagonal footed solid gold cup. c825-50. H9.5 x D13.5 cm. On each face is a central Asian musician or dancer. These entertainers were popular during this period. The cup was probably made in Yangzhou. Other similar Tang Dynasty cups were found before. Some of them are on display at the Shaanxi History Museum. Silver and gold objects were hidden on the bottom of the boat in a special compartment.

Belitung – 826 AD

Nanhai No 1 – 1160 AD

The Chinese merchant wreck sank off the south China coast c1160 (Song), carrying 60000-80000 items, mainly ceramics.

wreck

In December 2007, in front of live TV a chunk of the seabed containing the 850 years old Southern Song wreck Nanhai No. 1 was lifted out of the sea to be placed in a newly constructed museum, known as the ‘Crystal Palace’ near the town of Yangjiang 陽江 , Guangdong, for further excavation.

The wreck (c1160) is one of the bigger and older wrecks, on the maritime trading route, in Chinese waters. Excavation is continuing, but a brass kettle, a gold chain and numerous white ceramic from Dehua 德化 , Fujian have been found. The wreck contains some 60000 to 80000 items.

The cage containing the wreck buried in the seabed, is housed at the Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum, Yangjiang.

wreckNanhai No 1 – 1160 AD

Nanhai No 1 wreck

wreck

One of the most interesting objects found on the wreck was a gold chain on Nanhai No. 1. As the gold chain was not of Chinese origin, it might have belonged to a passenger returning home.

Nanhai No 1 – 1160 AD

Turiang 1370 & Royal Nanhai 1450 – Thai ceramics wreckLeft – Ceramic plate with a fish & bottle from the wreck Turiang. c1400. The wreck was sank on the east coast of Malaysian Peninsula. It was a Chinese junk probably sailing from Ayutthaya (Thailand) to Indonesia. The cargo was made up of 57% Thai, 35% South Chinese and 8% Vietnamese ceramic wares. Victoria & Albert Museum.

Photo taken 6 July 2013

A green-glazed bowl, a brown glazed jar and green-glazed stoneware from the wreck Royal Nanhai, sank in 1450-1500. It was a Siamese ship found on the east coast of Malaysian Peninsula. The ship carried some 20,000 ceramics piece almost entirely of Si Satchanalai wares, probably to Indonesia. It shows the success of Thai kilns in supplying the trade.

The Chinese ocean going junk “Keying” that sailed from China into the Atlantic, visited New York and London (1846-1848).

Keying – 1846 AD Ships

ShipsKeying 1846

Keying - After Deck of the ship

Ref : Engravings of the ship Keying from Illustrated London News 1 Apr 1848.

Keying – Interior of the ship

Keying ( 耆英 ) was a 45m long, three-mast 800-ton trading junk. It was built in Foochow between 1846-48, secretly by British businessmen in Hongkong, as Chinese government prohibited the sale of such ships.

In Dec 1846, manned by 12 British and 30 Chinese sailors, it left Hongkong and sailed to London. The ship entered the Atlantic after passing the Cape of Good Hope to New York. From New York it sailed back to London on April 1848.

It was the only Chinese junk that sailed into the Atlantic. It showed that the junk was able to circumnavigate the world.

Ref : Wikipedia Keying Ship

Pepper, the Prince of Spice. Black pepper corns and black pepper plants in plantation.

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The End

Music – Solitude performed by Nigel Kennedy.

A History of Wealth, Power & the MarinersDedicated to the nameless men and women, who sailed across the seas, at the mercy of the seas and pirates.

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