Experts from Sweden and China are carefully adding the final
touches to a unique exhibition of Chinese porcelain due to open in
Guangzhou later this month.
"The exhibition will be special as most of the exhibits are
porcelain products made in China in the Ming and Qing dynasties
(1368-1911) that were salvaged from a shipwreck two hundred years
ago," Huang Qingchang, director of Guangzhou Museum's publicity
department, told China Daily.
In total 115 pieces from the Swedish National Maritime Museum
will be on show at the exhibition, which runs from July 21 to
September 18.
The exhibition is part of the activities celebrating the arrival
of Gotheborg III, which is sailing along the ancient "Silk Road on
the Sea" and is scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou next Wednesday for
a one-month visit.
"Though made in China, the porcelain exhibits on show can rarely
be seen here as they were tailor-made for the upper classes in
Sweden," Huang said.
Both decorative and for daily use, the pieces were mostly made
in Guangdong and Jiangxi's Jingdezhen, both traditional bases for
porcelain production.
The seashells stuck to the bowls are reminders of the shipwreck
more than two centuries ago.
The Gotheborg III, which cost over US$40 million to build, is a
replica of the Gotheborg, the largest vessel owned by the East
Indian Company in Sweden in the 18th Century.
It sank on September 12, 1745, just 900 meters off the coast of
its homeport of Gothenburg on its third voyage from Guangzhou, or
Canton as it was then known.
It took down with it a precious cargo of tea, spices, silk and
porcelain.
All efforts to salvage the goods failed, but the porcelain
remained intact until the 1980s when some Swedish divers discovered
the treasure.
"I just can't wait to see the exhibits with my own eyes," said
Liu Zhi, a history student at South China Normal University.
Liu said that the exhibition was a must-see for people with an
interest in Chinese or world history, and would help people better
understand 18th Century porcelain craftsmanship.
At a recent press conference, Li Wenyao, head of Guangzhou
Tourism Bureau, said that the Gotheborg III set sail last October
and will visit Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
He said it is a voyage celebrating more than half a century of
diplomatic relations between China and Sweden.
Li said that Guangzhou would organize several activities to mark
its visit as well as the exhibition.
(China Daily July 12, 2006)
