Treasure From 1,000-Year-Old Asian Imperial Shipwreck Surfaces in New Exhibit

1,000-Year-Old Shipwreck Bounty Coming to U.S. for First Time

Changsha ewers trapped in a coral concretion on the top of the wreck mound (Michael Flecker)

History was made in 1998, off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia, where a 1,000-year-old shipwreck was discovered, packed with treasure. Among the finds were ceramics, gold and silver vessels, bronze mirrors, and other artifacts. Kept in incredibly good condition by expert packing from its doomed sailors and the pressure on the Java Sea floor, the bounty yielded a priceless trove of historical information.

Now, for the first time ever, U.S. audiences will get to see 76 of these items as presented by the Asia Society Museum in New York City in an exhibit entitled, Secrets of the Sea: A Tang Shipwreck and Early Trade in Asia, which opened to the public March 7 and runs through June 4.

1,000-Year-Old Shipwreck's Bounty on Display in U.S. for First Time Ever

Dish with floral lozenge decoration China, Henan Province Gongxian kilns Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50
Glazed stoneware with cobalt-blue pigment over white slip (Asian Civilisations Museum, Courtesy of John Tsantes and Robert Harrell)

Square-lobed dish with insects, flowers, knotted ribbons, and swastika (wan, ‘10,000’), China; Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50, gold (Asian Civilisations Museum, Tang Shipwreck Collection)

The ship was headed for Abbasid Caliphate, an empire that included present-day Iran and Iraq, with valuables produced in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907).

“The contents of the Belitung shipwreck testify to the scale and sophistication of contact between ancient Islamic and Buddhist peoples more than a thousand years ago,” said Boon Hui Tan, vp Global Arts and Cultural Programs, Asia Society, and director of the Asia Society Museum.

For more on the exhibit, click here. Below, take a look at more selections of artifacts from the shipwreck.

Changsha bowls tightly packed inside a storage jar (Michael Flecker)

Long-necked ewer China, probably Henan Province Gongxian kilns around 830s; glazed stoneware with copper-green splashes over white slip (Asian Civilisations Museum/Tang Shipwreck Collection)

1,000-Year-Old Shipwreck Bounty on Display in U.S. for the First Time Ever

Four-lobed oval box with deer and lion decoration, China; Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50 Sliver, parcel-gilt (Asian Civilisations Museum/Tang Shipwreck Collection)

1,000-Year-Old Shipwreck Bounty on Display for the First Time in U.S.

Fan-shaped box with parrot and duck decoration, China; Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50 silver, parcel-gilt (Asian Civilisations Museum/Tang Shipwreck Collection)

1,000-Year-Old Shipwreck Bounty on Display in the U.S. for the First Time Ever

Bowl with decorative inscription in cursive script China, Hunan Province Changsha kilns; Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50; glazed stoneware with underglaze iron-brown (Asian Civilisations Museum/Courtesy of John Tsantes and Robert Harrell)

1,000-Year-Old Shipwreck Bounty on Display for First Time in U.S.

Four-lobed bowl with dragon medallion China, probably Henan Province, Gongxian kilns; Tang dynasty, ca. 825–850; stoneware with pale copper-green glaze over white slip (Asian Civilisations Museum/Courtesy of John Tsantes and Robert Harrell)

—RealClearLife