Last Monday, the National Museum of the Philippines featured a porcelain bowl, which was recovered from the Pandanan shipwreck. Because of its “age, rarity, and unique craftsmanship,” the ceramic bowl was officially declared as a National Cultural Treasure.
1) The ceramic bowl was manufactured in China.
Image obtained from https://www.comuseum.com
According to the National Museum of the Philippines, the bowl was made during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), about 100 years before the Pandanan ship set sail.
The earliest mass production of porcelain blue and white ceramics was observed during this period. However, because of its limited manufacturing and trading period, these ceramics are now rare.
2) The bowl holds compelling fabled designs.
The bowl’s interior design shows two Chinese mythical creatures: a qilin, a unicorn or a dragon-horse, and a phoenix, a sacred bird.
3) The ship might have originated from Southeast Asia.
Image obtained from National Museum of the Philippines
More than 70% of the ceramic cargo came from Vietnam, while the remaining percent came from China and Thailand.
4) The Pandanan shipwreck was discovered by a pearl farm diver in 1993.
Image obtained from www.flickr.com
The shipwreck was accidentally uncovered by a pearl farm diver while searching for a basket filled with pearls near Pandanan Island, southern Palawan.
A couple of years later, it was discovered that the vessel contained 4,000 different objects all over the countries after being excavated.
5) There are theories regarding how the bowl ended up in the ship.
According to the National Museum of the Philippines, the bowl was probably “a merchant’s heirloom piece and used as a trading commodity in exchange for Southeast Asian luxury goods.”
The second theory is that the ceramics inside the boat (including the bowl) were used as an offering to a king or a ruler for him to allow the merchants to trade around his country.
