A RARE BLUE AND WHITE DISKED KENDI, TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, FROM THE HATCHER CARGO
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Published: Jean-Paul Desroches (ed.) et al, Two Americans in Paris. A Quest for Asian Art, Paris, 2016, p. 202, no. 324.

Exhibited:
1. Pointe-à-Callière Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Montréal, 17 November 2016-19 March 2017.
2. Kimbell Art Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Fort Worth, Texas, 4 March-19 August 2018.

China, c. 1643-1645. The globular body rising from a straight foot to a cylindrical neck with domed section below the upper rim, set with a spout emerging from a disk to one side. The sides are painted in cobalt blue with a hare and a mythical beast hiding amid lotus scroll, framed by a band of stiff leaves above and below, the neck further detailed with petals, and the domed upper section with further scrolling vines. The disk around the mouth is decorated with floral sprays enclosed by stylized leaves.

Provenance: Michael Hatcher, recovered from the ‘Hatcher wreck’ in 1983. Christie’s Amsterdam, 14 March 1984. The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France, acquired from the above. The base with an old label, ‘The Hatcher Collection, Christie’s Amsterdam 14-03-1984’. 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 (known as the ‘Nanking cargo’) 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: Good condition with expected wear, firing irregularities, minor warping, two shallow chips to the underside of the disk and a tiny chip to the spout. The exterior with surface alteration consistent with objects from maritime salvage.

Weight: 983 g
Dimensions: Height 20.2 cm

The present kendi was recovered among some 25,000 vessels found on the wreck of an unidentified Asian ship in the South China Sea. This ship is known as the 'Hatcher cargo’ after Captain Michael Hatcher who discovered her in 1983. There is no written record testifying to the exact year of her sinking but the covers of two oviform jars inscribed in underglaze blue with a cyclical date corresponding to 1643 make fairly precise dating of the wreck possible. The cargo primarily consisted of two types of blue-and-white porcelain made at Jingdezhen at the end of the Ming dynasty – late variations of 'kraak' ware and examples of a 'transitional' style characterized by landscape motifs and naturalistic plants and birds. The ship may have been on its way to Indonesia, carrying also spices, silk and other commodities for sale to the Dutch whose East India Company had offices in Batavia (modern Jakarta). Chinese junks sailing to Batavia or Bantam varied in size from 200 to 800 tons. The journey out was made over three weeks during December and January and the return trip took place in June and July.

The shape of this kendi is neither Chinese nor European, but derives from Southeast Asian water pourers. Although this might suggest that it was destined for sale to Southeast Asian customers rather than for transport on to The Netherlands, we know from surviving Dutch still-life oil paintings that porcelains in shapes seemingly made for non-European customers were sold and used in Europe. Out of a total of 545 kendi, eleven with this type of 'transitional' decoration were sold at auction over the four Christie's sales of the Hatcher wreck cargo. Most kendi recovered from the wreck had 'kraak'-style decoration. The disked kendi type was encountered for the first time in this cargo.

Literature comparison:
Compare a pair of closely related blue and white kendis, 19.8 cm high, dated to the Ming dynasty, also from the Hatcher cargo and now in the British Museum, registration number 1984,0303.11.a-b.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 12 May 2004, lot 239
Price: EUR 7,767 or approx. EUR 13,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A blue and white 'Kraak porselein' kendi, first half 17th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and size (20 cm). Note the mostly different motifs, yet still with similar floral scroll in some areas.