Friday, August 16, 2024 Macao played host to the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Launch from Greater Bay Area: Nanhai I Shipwreck and the Maritime Silk Road” on August 15. Co-organised by the Development Bureau (DEVB), the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the exhibition features artefacts from the Nanhai I shipwreck, an ancient ocean-going merchant vessel, as well as related items from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. The event highlights the pivotal role of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the Maritime Silk Road’s history.
The opening ceremony was officiated by the Secretary for Development, Ms. Bernadette Linn; Deputy Director of Art Exhibitions China, Ms. Zhou Yu; President of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Ms.
Cao Jin; and Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr. Cheang Kai-meng. Nanhai I was a merchant ship from the Southern Song dynasty, salvaged in 2007, and is considered the most complete ancient ocean-going merchant vessel ever discovered through archaeological excavation.
The shipwreck yielded a remarkable collection of artefacts, including porcelain, bronzeware, ironware, gold, silverware, lacquerware, and woodenware. The unique quantities, shapes, and craftsmanship of these items are unparalleled among archaeological finds from the Southern Song dynasty. Experts believe that Nanhai I likely sank along the maritime route from Guangdong to the South China Sea in the 10th year of the Chunxi reign (1183) of the Southern Song dynasty or shortly thereafter.
The exhibition features 255 items, including notable artefacts from Nanhai I, such as a brown glazed jar with four lugs, stamped with the Chinese characters “Chun Xi Shi Nian” (the 10th year of the Chunxi reign) from the Nanhai kiln; a qingbai glazed foliated bowl with stamped plum blossom pattern from the Jingdezhen kiln; a green glazed ogee-shaped foliated dish with incised lotus pattern from the Longquan kiln; a necklace with a gold chain and rhinoceros horn-shaped cone ornaments; and a gem-set hollow gold bracelet. Additionally, the exhibition showcases related artefacts unearthed in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, including the bottom fragment of a qingbai glazed bowl with inked Chinese characters “Gong Shi” (envoy) from the Hutian kiln of the Song dynasty, found at the site of the Nanyue Kingdom Palace in Guangzhou; a yellowish-green glazed jar with six lugs and a dragon pattern from the Song dynasty, discovered at the former Sacred Hill site in Hong Kong; and a blue-and-white kendi with an elephant head-shaped spout from the Jingdezhen kiln of the Ming dynasty, found at the site of St. Paul’s College in Macao.
The exhibition will be held at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre, Kowloon Park, Haiphong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, from August 16 to February 12 of next year. Admission is free..
