A RARE GROUP OF SEVEN DEHUA GLAZED FIGURES OF THE DAOIST IMMORTALS, BAXIAN, QIANLONG PERIOD, FROM THE NANKING CARGO
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

China, c. 1752. Comprising three figures of He Xiangu, two holding a fly whisk and one with a scepter, a figure of Li Tieguai leaning on his cane, a figure of Cao Guojiu, a figure of Han Xiangzi with his hands held before his chest and the hair tied in two buns, and a figure of Lan Caihe with a small pouch in his right hand. Each standing atop a rectangular base with upturned ruyi to the front and back and covered in a bluish white glaze over the white body. (7)

Provenance: Michael Hatcher, recovered from the Geldermalsen wreck (known as the ‘Nanking cargo’). Christie's Amsterdam, 28 April 1986, lot 5736A. The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. One figure with an old label to the back, ‘Christie’s, The Nanking Cargo, lot 5736A’. Michael Hatcher (b. 1940) is a British explorer and marine salvor who specialized in salvage work in the South China Sea. In 1981, he was involved in investigating the wreck of the Dutch submarine K XVII. He is especially known for his recovery of large quantities of Chinese porcelain from the VOC ship Geldermalsen, which was sold at Christie's in Amsterdam in 1986. Previously, he had discovered another ship in the South China Sea, which became known as the ‘Hatcher cargo’. A part of the cargo salvaged in this wreck was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam in March 1984.
Condition: Overall very good condition with expected surface wear, manufacturing irregularities including small firing cracks and dark spots, apart from one figure only few small losses to extremities, two bases with small hairlines and one with a chip to one corner. The exterior with minor surface alteration consistent with objects from maritime salvage.

Weight: 369 g (total)
Dimensions: Height 9.8-10.6 cm

These porcelain figures belong to the celebrated 'Nanking Cargo', recovered from the wreck of the Dutch East India Company ship Geldermalsen, which sank in the South China Sea on January 3, 1752 after striking a reef on its return voyage to the Netherlands. The ship had departed Canton (Guangzhou) just sixteen days earlier, carrying a valuable cargo of tea, silk, gold ingots, and more than 100,000 pieces of porcelain produced in Jingdezhen for the Dutch market. The porcelain had been packed in chests of tea, which inadvertently protected many of the wares from damage during their long submersion. In 1985, British salvage expert Captain Michael Hatcher discovered the wreck on the same reef where, just two years earlier, he had found a sunken Chinese junk carrying a cargo of Kraak and Transitional wares dated to around 1643. The two wrecks lay barely a mile apart. The Geldermalsen’s contents were sold the following year in a sensational auction at Christie’s Amsterdam, where the combination of commercial history, shipwreck romance, and the pristine condition of the porcelain led to extraordinary public interest and record-breaking sales.

The Baxian (Eight Immortals) are a legendary group of Chinese heroes who fight to vanquish evil. They comprise Lu Dongbin, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Zhang Guolao, Han Xiangzi, Zhong Liquan, Li Tieguai, and Cao Guojiu. Popular during the Tang and Shang dynasties, the Eight Immortals were said to live on a group of five islands in the Bohai Sea. Their stories were first recorded by the Ming dynasty poet Wu Yuantai. Their status as fabled folk icons makes them well-known in popular culture. Figures of the Eight Immortals were popular in Europe as exotic ornaments and novelties, which allowed the Chinese to sell them to both eastern and western markets without alteration for centuries, well into the 19th century.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Dehua figure of Li Tieguai, dated c. 1752, also salvaged from the Geldermalsen wreck, 9.8 cm tall, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 99.217.413.