Sunken Treasures: Ming Dynasty Ceramics from a Chinese Shipwreck

Sometime in the early 1500s, a Chinese ship, later to be known as the San Isidro, sank off the western Philippines loaded with ceramics made in South China, probably in Fujian province. Four centuries later, in 1995, the ship was discovered under a twenty-inch layer of coral sand at a depth of about 130 feet, and an excavation of the wreck was begun by the Far Eastern Foundation for Nautical Archaeology in cooperation with the National Museum of the Philippines.

On view for the first time to the to the public, more than thirty salvaged pieces - along with other trade ceramics from a later period - were presented in the exhibition Sunken Treasures: Ming Dynasty Ceramics from a Chinese Shipwreck, on view at the Denver Art Museum November 18, 2000, through November 18, 2001. The dishes, bowls, and saucers, each decorated with exquisite floral designs painted in underglaze cobalt blue, come from the collection of Frederick R. Mayer, longtime supporter of the Museum and co-sponsor of the three-month long recovery project.

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