Singtai

The Singtai Shipwreck (+/- 1550)

The Singtai shipwreck lies at a depth of 53 meters, 12 nautical miles from the island of Pulau Redang off the north-eastern coast of peninsular Malaysia. The site was discovered in April 2001 and only a brief surface survey on the seabed has been conducted thus far. The survey revealed a heavily loaded vessel perhaps 22 meters in length. The construction of the ship which includes transverse bulkheads made from soft wood (joined by square iron nails) suggest that it may have been built in China

The main cargo appears to be storage jars in various shapes, mostly from the Maenam Noi kilns of Singburi, Thailand. The larger ones are barrel-shaped with singularly thick loop-like handles at the shoulder. Most of the jars, small and large, display dark brown glaze that covers the upper two-thirds of the body. Although they are from the same manufacturing centre, the Singtai jars, made a century later, are noticeably different in style from those aboard the Royal Nanhai

The mix of other Thai ceramics aboard the Singtai wreck is instructive. Exactly as seen in the Xuande cargo, there are examples of Sisatchanalai underglaze covered boxes and Sukhothai underglaze bowls with cakra and starburst motifs but no Sisatchanalai celadon. This suggests that the Sisatchanalai potters were no longer producing celadon. Both cargoes also show that the Sukhothai potters were still active in the 16th century, and this is much later than scholars expected. In addition to Sisatchanalai underglaze black covered boxes, Sisatchanalai monochrome white-glazed jars were also loaded aboard the Singtai. (The fact that the Xuande did not carry white-glazed ware is a cautionary example that cargoes of approximately the same age may not carry identical products.)

No artefacts from the Singtai shipwreck are available for sale at this time. To view other items for sale, please go to: Artefacts for Sale

All artefacts recovered during the surface survey were donated to the Malaysian Department of Museums and Antiquities in accordance with the Antiquities Act 1967

Typical Singburi jar

Sukhothai underglaze bowl

Sisatchanalai underglaze painted covered boxes

Jars from unknown kiln

THE ONLY PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE SURE TO BUY GENUINE ANTIQUES

Nanhai Marine Archaeology Sdn. Bhd. was incorporated on the recommendation of the Malaysian authorities. This was done in order to formalize and to expand on the company’s researcher’s extensive knowledge of Asia’s ceramic developments and maritime trade.

The company’s researchers have been engaged in the search for historical shipwrecks for more than two decades and another decade researching maritime trade. Most of this work is concentrated to the South China Sea, a virtual highway for ancient shipping linking China to India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia in an extensive maritime trade system. This ancient trade started sometime around the 4th century and lasted well into the 19th century.

Following a successful shipwreck discovery, the company obtain a government permit to excavate the wreckage, and then carry out detailed marine archaeological procedures in recovering the artifacts, mapping the ship's remains and securing other data for future research. After each concluded project and following conservation of recovered artifacts, we search for and pinpoint ruined kiln sites and compare its wasters with the recovered ceramics until we are satisfied we located the place in which the shipwreck pottery was made centuries earlier.

As such we have precisely located a kiln sites in Sisatchanalai, northern Thailand in which our Royal Nanhai and the Nanyang shipwreck celadon ware was made around AD. 1380-1460. (See videos on: http://www.ming-wrecks.com/photopage.html ) Other kilns was located in Sukhothai where production wasters matched the fish and flower plates found on the Turiang and the Longquan shipwreck. These unique underglaze decorated wares was made at those exact kilns 600 years earlier! Our latest shipwreck cargo; The Wanli Shipwreck, of Chinese blue and white porcelain, was likewise pinpointed to the Guangyinge kiln site in Jingdezhen, China. (See video on:http://www.ming-wrecks.com/photopage.html )

Our arrangement with the Malaysian authorities is such that we finance all operations and train young Malaysian nationals (on our initiative) in maritime archaeology and related research. After giving all unique and single artifacts and thirty percent of all recovered items to the National Museum (and assisting with exhibitions of artifacts from each project) we are allowed to sell our portion of the recovery to finance future projects. The findings from ongoing research and the compilation of reports, books and catalogues are available on these pages as well as on a separate Internet site: http://www.maritimeasia.ws

Due to the unquestionable authenticity and precisely dated shipwreck pottery, many International Museums now display our shipwreck pieces as reference material.

The artifacts sold on this website are therefore legally and properly excavated and can be supplied with an export permit from the Department of Museum in Malaysia should this be required. This unique working arrangement makes us one of the few Internet sellers that sell from own excavation and deliver a meaningful Certificate of Authenticity with every artifact issued with a serial number.

So, if you are interested to purchase some of our Antique porcelain, old time pottery or other shipwreck artifacts from the Song dynasty, Ming porcelain or Chinese blue and white porcelain or the famous Yixing teapots, you can rest assured that every piece is excavated through proper archaeology by our own staff. We do not sell anything that is not excavated by ourselves or properly recorded and researched before offered for sale so every piece comes with the “Best possible provenance”

WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO EMAIL OUR PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER; Sten Sjostrand SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR POSSIBLE PURCHASE