Pieces from the Past

The artifacts on these pages may look as good as new, but the truth is they have already spent three centuries on the seabed. These blue and white porcelain pieces were part of a massive cache of pottery that was recovered from a sunken ship in June 2005 off the waters of Pingtan county in Fujian province. Made in the kilns of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province (known as China’s “porcelain capital” for its fine wares), these pieces feature a layered three-dimensional effect in their painting, and are believed to date from the period when blue and white porcelain reached its height of technical excellence: during the reign of the Qing-dynasty emperor Kangxi who ruled from 1661 to 1722. From the designs painted on these pieces, experts believe they were destined for the European market.