Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Spoon

ca.1725 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This small spoon was probably used by communities in South Asia for eating soup and rice porridge. It is one of a number of objects that was salvaged from the wreck of a trade ship thought to be a Chinese junk, dating to approximately 1725. This corresponds to the reign of the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The wreck was discovered off the Southern coast of Vietnam in 1998 near Ca Mau and is now commonly referred to as the Ca Mau wreck. The ship was loaded with Chinese porcelain of various designs for export to South Asia and Europe. This object is one of a group of 182 pieces of porcelain acquired by the V&A from this wreck.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Ceramic, moulding fired and glazed
Brief description
Leaf shaped spoon
Physical description
Modelled as a leaf with delicate moulded veins and a knopped handle, painted with a brown lead glaze.
Dimensions
  • Length: 11cm
Styles
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
Spoons made for Asian markets China, Jingdezhen, about 1725, lead-glazed porcelain(21/11/2008)
Object history
This object was salvaged from the wreck of a trade ship, probably a Chinese junk dating to approximately 1725. This date corresponds to the reign of the Yongzheng emperor (1723-1735) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The wreck was discovered off the Southern coast of Vietnam in 1998 near Ca Mau. The wreck is now commonly referred to as the Ca Mau wreck. By 1999 a total of 51,500 pieces had been recovered form the wreck.

It was loaded with Chinese porcelain of various designs for export to South Asia and Europe. This object is one of a group of 182 pieces of porcelain acquired by the V&A from this wreck. These objects were sold through Sotheby's, Amsterdam at sale AM0967 'Made in Imperial China: 76,000 pieces of export porcelain from the Ca Mau shipwreck, Circa 1725' which took place in 2007.

Historical significance: This object provides useful information about trade, trade routes, design and markets for Chinese ceramics.
Subject depicted
Summary
This small spoon was probably used by communities in South Asia for eating soup and rice porridge. It is one of a number of objects that was salvaged from the wreck of a trade ship thought to be a Chinese junk, dating to approximately 1725. This corresponds to the reign of the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The wreck was discovered off the Southern coast of Vietnam in 1998 near Ca Mau and is now commonly referred to as the Ca Mau wreck. The ship was loaded with Chinese porcelain of various designs for export to South Asia and Europe. This object is one of a group of 182 pieces of porcelain acquired by the V&A from this wreck.
Collection
Accession number
FE.16-2007

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 21, 2008
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest