Description:
One of two Chinese export porcelain wine cups decorated in blue with a band of alternating tall and short peaks (or flame edged in whorls) over small scrolls. Part of a cargo salvaged from the "South China Seas junk" by Michael Hatcher, they were sold at Christies in 1984. Two lids with the date of 1643 were found in the cargo, which sank on its approach to Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia). Most porcelain shipped to Batavia was used there by Dutch traders, with a relatively small number of such finely potted pieces sent to Europe. In Batavia, these cups would have been used for rice wine; in Europe, they were probably used for gin or tea drinking. Similar cups were salvaged from the Dutch ships, 'Witte Leeuw' that sank in a naval conflict off of St. Helena in 1613, and 'Banda' sunk off Mauritius in 1615. This type of Chinese porcelain called "kraakporselein" was produced for the export trade in the early 17th century. The term "kraak" may derive from "carrack," a type of Portuguese ship that transported the ware. Typically kraak porcelains are thin, rims often have glaze losses, and foot rims tend to be gritty. Their decoration, such as the 'bird on a rock' design, was imitated by Dutch and London delftware potters. Although rare in America, kraak porcelain cups have been found near Jamestown, VA: 1 at Camp Wallace near Kingsmill: The Helmet Site and the Tenement Site, dated 1613-1644; 6 at "Maine", dated 1618-1635; 1 at James Fort, circa 1610, rediscovery pit 4; Walter Aston Site; Jordan's Journey: PG 302 (5), PG 307; Flowerdew Hundred (PG 65) . Some kraak porcelain wine cup fragments were found at Ferryland in Newfoundland. New England ownership is more difficult to prove although there are references to "cheney ware" in 17th century New England probate inventories, e.g., Katherine Coytmore of Charlestown, Mass, included "3 boxes of East India dishes" valued at £3 in 1659; Widow Mary Partridge of Hadley, Mass, listed "chenney ware" valued at five shillings six pence in 1680; Eleazer Armitage of Suffolk County left "2 pieces of Chinaware/parcel earthenware" valued at eight shillings and two pence in 1674. The cups have flared rims, tapered sides, and applied unglazed foot rims. More than a dozen of these diminutive cups with flame-frieze decoration have been reported from early-seventeenth-century Virginia archaeological sites. These fine cups were once thought to be Imperial ware, reserved for use by the Chinese elite. Now they are recognized as status vessels made for export. They have been found on a number of Dutch shipwrecks (such as the Witte Leeuw, 1613, and the Hatcher, 1643) and terrestrial sites dating to the first half of the seventeenth century.
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