Wine cup from the Hoi An Hoard shipwreck

Object Details

• Provenance

  Late 15th Century

  Created in Red River Delta Kilns, likely at the village of Chu Dau, Hải Dương, Vietnam [1]

  1997-1999

  Excavated from Hoi An Hoard Shipwreck Site, on the coast of central Vietnam, in the South China Sea during marine archeological excavation, jointly sponsored by Ong Soo Hin (b. ca. 1950), Oxford University, and National History Museum of Vietnam, chief archeologist Mensun Bound (b. 1953), and managed by Frank Pope (b. 1973) [2]

  1999-2000

  Ministry of Culture, Vietnam; Vietnamese Salvage Agency (VISAL), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Saga Horizon, Singapore, jointly owned the excavated objects [3]

  2000

  Sale, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Butterfields, "Treasures from the Hoi An Hoard: Important Vietnamese Ceramics from a Late 15th/Early 16th Century Cargo," Session II, October 12, 2000, part of lot 1696 or 1697, unsold [4]

  2000

  Sale, San Francisco, Butterfields, "Fine Asian Works of Art: Including Treasures from the Hoi An Hoard," December 1-4, 2000, lot 6264 [5]

  2000-2005

  David P. Rehfuss (b. 1939), purchased from the Butterfields auction, December 3, 2000 [6]

  From 2005

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of David P. Rehfuss August 2005 [7]

  Notes:

  [1] During the 15th and 16th centuries, the kilns of the Red River Delta were the principal production sites for Vietnam's export ceramic industry. For a discussion of how these kilns were identified as the source for the majority of ceramics recovered from the Hoi An Hoard Shipwreck Site, see Mensun Bound, "The Hoi An Wreck" in Butterfields, "Treasures from the Hoi An Hoard: Important Vietnamese Ceramics from a Late 15th/Early 16th Century Cargo," San Francisco and Los Angeles: October 11-13, 2000: XIV-XIX. See curatorial remark #2, which notes the likelihood that this ceramic vessel originated in the village of Chu Dau, Hải Dương, Vietnam.

  [2] For the official archeological report, see Pham Quốc Quan and Tong Trung Tin, "Report on the Marine Excavation of the Cu Lao Cham Wreck, 1996-1999," Hanoi, Vietnam: Ha Noi Archive of the National Museum of Vietnamese History, 1999. See also Hoi An Hoard excavation sticker, affixed to the base of the cup, identifying the object as "88229."

  [3] The Vietnamese government commissioned the project and tasked the Ministry of Culture with supervising the excavation. The Ministry of Culture, the Vietnamese Salvage Agency (VISAL), and the Saga Horizon divided profits from the Butterfields sale (see note 4). Part of these profits funded the study and exhibition of excavated cargo in Vietnam's National Collections. The National History Museum, Hanoi retained all unique pieces excavated at the wreck. Hundreds of recovered ceramics were distributed to regional Vietnamese museums. See Dessa Goddard, "Saleroom News: Butterfields San Francisco and Los Angeles, Treasures from the Hoi An Hoard on October 11-13, 2000" in Arts of Asia, Vol. 32, No. 2: 120.

  [4] See Butterfields, "Treasures from the Hoi An Hoard: Important Vietnamese Ceramics from a Late 15th/Early 16th Century Cargo," Session II, San Francisco and Los Angeles, October 12, 2000, part of lot 1696 or 1697: 202. Lots 1696 and 1697 consisted of 40 nearly identical cups with matching glaze. This cup was part of one of those groupings.

  [5] See Butterfields, "Fine Asian Works of Art: Including Treasures from the Hoi An Hoard," San Francisco, December 1-4, 2000, lot 6264: 48.

  [6] See the Deed of Gift, signed December 12, 2005, copy in object file. David P. Rehfuss (b. 1939) was an officer of the American Foreign Service who had postings in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands. While stationed in Indonesia he developed a deep passion for South and Southeast Asian ceramics. In 1985, with fellow Foreign Service officer, John Forbes, Rehfuss founded the Washington Oriental Ceramic Group.

  [7] See the Deed of Gift, cited in note 6.

  Researched Completed December 1, 2021

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Vietnamese Ceramics from the Red River Delta (July 10, 2005 to November 15, 2009)

• Previous custodian or owner

  David P. Rehfuss

  Ong Soo Hin (born ca. 1950)

  Oxford University Marine Archaeology Research Expedition (MARE)

  Vietnam National Museum of History

  Mensun Bound (born 1953)

  Frank Pope (born 1973)

  Ministry of Culture, Vietnam

  Vietnamese Salvage Agency (VISAL)

  Saga Horizon

• Origin

  Chu Dau kilns, Hai Duong province, Vietnam

• Credit Line

  Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David P. Rehfuss

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

  Saga Horizon, Vietnam National Museum of History, Oxford University Marine Archaeology Research Expedition (MARE), Ministry of Culture, Vietnam, Bound, Mensun, Hin, Ong Soo, Pope, Frank, Vietnamese Salvage Agency (VISAL), Rehfuss, David P.

• Place

  Hai Duong province, Vietnam, Chu Dau kilns

• Topic

  Wine and wine making, Art, Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527), Stoneware, Chu Dau ware, Brown and black glaze, Southeast Asian Art, Ceramics

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)