Genuine Chinese porcelain plate, Ming dynasty, shipwreck, circa 1608 AD. Swatow porcelain Zhangzhou (Swatow), Wanli period. Weight: 1 lb. 11 oz. = 780 g; Diameter: 10.2 inch = 25.9 cm = 259 mm; Base diameter: 5.25 inch = 13.3 cm = 133 mm; Height: 2 inch = 5 cm; Provenance: 1) South China Sea Bin Thua wreck in 1608; 2) Huge private collection of Chinese porcelain in California; Swatow ware. Swatow ware or Swatow is a common name for a group of mainly late Ming Dynasty export porcelain from China intended for the South East Asian market. One of the probable reasons for this trade developing out of Swatow, or present-day Shantou, has to do with the disproportionately large numbers of ethnic Chinese migrating to South East Asia from Guangdong and neighboring Fujian Province. Their presence in South East Asia is still very much palpable, especially in Singapore and the Malaysian cities of Penang and Melacca. The name Swatow is rendered in Teochew, or Chao Zhou dialect, belonging to a relatively small group of ethnic Chinese that reside within present-day Canton, or Guang Dong Province. Linguistically though, the dialect has more in common with the dialect of Fujian Province. Swatow literally means: mountain head; head of the mountain. The name may be claimed to be misleading as the exact location of the kilns are as yet largely unidentified. However, they are generally thought to be located in the vicinity of what was formerly known as the port of Swatow (now Shantou) on the northern coast of the Guangdong region. Swatow ware is generally coarse, crudely potted and often under fired. Decoration in blue and white is by far the most common, although many poly-chrome wares, mainly with iron red and green overglaze decorations, are known. History of excavation: Bin Thua Shipwreck Ming Swatow blue and white plate (phoenix). The Binh Thuan Wreck was found by fishermen 40 miles off the coast of Binh Thuan Province, southern Vietnam, in 40 m of water. Maritime Explorations excavated the wreck in conjunction with the Vietnam Salvage Corporation (Visal), the Binh Thuan People's Committee, and the Ministry of Culture. The hull was that of a Chinese junk, 24 m long, 7 m wide, and divided into 25 narrow compartments by transverse bulkheads. Archival evidence points to the junk of the unfortunate merchant, I Sin Ho, who was transporting a cargo of silk and Chinese goods from China to Johore for the Dutch when his ship sank off the south of Vietnam in 1608. References: Binh Thuan Shipwreck Bowl, Swatow Ware Zhangzhou Porcelain, circa 1608 Estimate: $8,000