The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the
Singapore Tourism Board and the National Heritage Board of
Singapore have partnered to organize the first exhibition and
international tour of one of the oldest and most important marine
archaeological finds of the late 20th century.
The exhibition will focus on the 1998 discovery
of a ninth-century shipwreck and its astonishing cargo of about
60,000 objects from Tang dynasty China, ranging from mass-produced
ceramics to rare and extraordinary items of finely worked gold.
The cargo had laid undisturbed on the ocean floor for more than
1,100 years until sea-cucumber divers discovered it off the coast
of Indonesia’s Belitung Island. The ship, an Arab dhow, and its
contents confirm the existence of a direct maritime trade route
(alluded to in ancient Chinese and Arabic texts) from China to the
Persian Gulf and beyond - well before the Portuguese set sail in the
15th century.
The discovery offers scholars and scientists an
unprecedented time capsule of knowledge about the period and a
wealth of unanswered questions that will fuel research for decades
to come.
The grand opening of the exhibition will take place in
Singapore in late 2010 or early 2011. The Sackler Gallery will
host the U.S. premiere in spring 2012, coinciding with the
museum’s 25th anniversary celebration. The exhibition is expected
to travel for about five years to major museums in Asia, the
United States, Europe, the Middle East and Australia.
“We are
grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Singapore on this
historic project,” said Julian Raby, director of the Freer and
Sackler galleries. “The exhibition and tour will enable people
around the world to connect with these extraordinary artifacts and
feel the impact of a remarkable story that forever changes our
view of ancient global trade. Singapore has acted with great
understanding and forethought by protecting and preserving
these objects collectively as a world treasure and for generously
presenting them to the public in the form of an international
travelling exhibition.”
The cargo, known as the Tang Shipwreck
Treasure: Singapore’s Maritime Collection, was purchased by
Singapore with the support of the estate of Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat
shortly after its discovery but has never been publically
displayed on a large scale. In the years following their recovery
from the sea the objects have remained in private storage, where
they have been studied and carefully restored.
“The Tang
Shipwreck Treasure has a special meaning for Singapore,” said Aw
Kah Peng, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board. “Its
compelling story resonates with Singapore’s growth into a premier
port and trading hub. Situated at the crossroads of the East and
West, Singapore has always benefitted from the cultural exchange
created through trade among the Chinese, Middle Eastern and
Southeast Asian civilizations, and maintains the same cosmopolitan
outlook today. We are particularly honoured to join with the
Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler galleries to develop this
important exhibition.”
The cargo will provide the focal point
for an exhibition of dramatic scope, illustrating the dynamic
interchange of ninth-century geopolitical powerhouses along the
maritime silk route from Changan (modern Xian) to Baghdad, as well
as the human stories of those who toiled in China’s factory-like
kilns and the ship’s crew, whose few surviving belongings provide
clues to their multi-ethnic identities.
The exhibition will
reflect the range and size of the find and its significance, as
the largest consignment of Tang Dynasty export goods ever
discovered: lead ingots, bronze mirrors, spice-filled jars,
thousands of glazed bowls, ewers and other fine ceramics,
including some of the oldest cobalt-blue-and-white ceramics made
in China. Among the anticipated highlights of the exhibition is a
small cache of spectacular, intricately worked vessels of silver
and gold, unparalleled in quality and design. Why they were
carried by the ship and who was destined to receive them are among
many questions provoked by the find.
“The extraordinary story
of the cargo—a testament of cultural exchanges and interactions in
Asia via the Maritime Silk Route—resonates with our work to
promote understanding of the rich cultures that make up
Singapore’s multi-ethnic society,” said Michael Koh, chief
executive of the National Heritage Board of Singapore. “Through our partnership
with the Freer and Sackler galleries, this remarkable story can
now be presented to a wider audience, both locally and
internationally.”
Often referred to as the Belitung Shipwreck,
in reference to the nearby Indonesian island, the dhow,
approximately 21 feet wide and 58 feet long, is the only vessel of
Arab origin ever found in Southeast Asian waters. Although
the goods carried by the ship originated in China, the ship is
similar to a type built in the Middle East during the period and
for centuries thereafter.
The port of departure and destination
are unknown, but scholars believe that the ship was bound for the
Middle East with a full load of goods from a southern Chinese
port, possibly Guangzhou. An accurate reproduction of this vessel,
sewn together without the use of a single nail, has been made in
Oman and was recently presented by the Sultanate of Oman to the
government and people of Singapore. Named The Jewel of Muscat, the
vessel sailed from Muscat 16 February and arrived in Singapore on
3 July
2010.
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