In 2014, a collection of Swatow wares appeared on the antique market in Singapore. These artifacts primarily included large plates featuring the single phoenix motif, along with jarlets adorned with floral, lion, or horse motifs. Additionally, there were covered boxes decorated with horse, hare, or chi-dragon motifs. A smaller number of plates featured the double phoenix motif.
The bowls recovered from the wreck included those with the popular heron in lotus pond motif and others with floral designs. Notably, some small bowls (10 cm in diameter) featured a lion motif on the inner base and a rather rare molded floral motif on the inner wall. The overglaze enamels on the exterior had largely degraded, leaving only traces. Some bowls with overglaze enamel decoration on both the interior and exterior had suffered substantial degradation, rendering the designs barely visible. Additionally, a small quantity of low-fired lead-glazed sancai covered boxes was also recovered.
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| Group of blue and white boxes,bowls and small jars from Batam wreck |
The wreck was discovered near the Indonesian island of Batam, located approximately 100 meters from the coast. It does not appear to be a large vessel and was possibly of Indonesian origin, likely used for inter-island trading.
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| Location of Batam wreck |
Stylistically, many of the Batam wreck wares resemble those recovered from the Binh Thuan shipwreck, dating to approximately 1600–1620 A.D. However, while the Binh Thuan cargo featured a wider variety of decorated plates, the Batam wreck finds were primarily limited to single phoenix motifs, with only a small quantity of double phoenix plates. In contrast, the Batam wreck yielded a greater variety of covered boxes.
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| Those white glaze jarlets, bowls have degraded overglaze enamels |
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| Plate with Single pheonix motif |
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| Plate with Single phoenix motif. Dia. 27 cm | |
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| Plate with double phoenix motif. Dia. 27 cm | |
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| Kraak klapmuts bowl . Dia. 22 cm | |
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| Small Bowl (10 cm) with lion motif. Interior has interesting molded floral motif. Overglaze enamelled decoration on exterior degraded with only traces left | |
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| Bowl with heron in lotus pond motif. Dia. 15 cm | |
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| Bowl with floral motif. Dia. 15 cm | |
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| Pot with floral motif. Ht. 6 cm | |
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| Blue and white Jarlet with prunus motif | |
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| Cover box with hare and horse motif. Dia. 10 cm | |
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| Cover box with chilin motif. Dia. 10 cm | |
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| Cover box with horse motif Dia. 10 cm | |
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| Cover box with fish leaping over wave and horse motif. Dia. 12.5 cm | |
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| Cover box with mandarin duck in lotus pond motif. Dia. 10.5 cm | |
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| Small cover box with waves and flower motif. Dia. 5 cm | |
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| Small cover box with waves and flower motif. Dia. 6.5 cm | |
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| Jarlet with lion motif. Dia. 8 cm | |
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| Jarlet with floral motif. Dia. 8 cm | |
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| Jarlet with floral motif. Dia. 8 cm | |
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| Jarlet with Deer motif (left) pine tree (right) | |
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| Small jarlet with vertical lines. Dia. 5.5 cm | |
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| Lead glaze melon-shaped jarlets. Cover missing | |
The Swatow wares from the Batam wreck provide valuable insight into 17th-century maritime trade and ceramic production. The close resemblance to the Binh Thuan shipwreck (2600-1620 A.D.) wares suggests a common source of manufacture, likely from Zhangzhou kilns in China, which were known for producing export ceramics during the late Ming Dynasty.
The limited variety of plate designs in the Batam wreck, compared to the Binh Thuan cargo, suggests that this vessel was carrying a more specialized or selective shipment, possibly catering to a specific market. The presence of covered boxes with diverse motifs is notable and adds to the understanding of Swatow ceramic trade patterns.
While the wreck itself appears to be of Indonesian origin, its cargo highlights the extensive inter-island and regional trade networks that connected Southeast Asia to China. Further study and documentation of these artifacts could shed more light on the role of smaller trading vessels in distributing Swatow ceramics across the region.
Written by: NK Koh,
(15 July 2015), updated: 27 Feb 2025