Rijksmuseum

Porcelain and pepper from the VOC trading ship the Witte Leeuw

Date

before 1613

Medium

iron (metal), porcelain

Institution

Rijksmuseum

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) brought costly Asian goods to the Netherlands. Sometimes a ship would sink underway, as did the Witte Leeuw in 1613. In addition to porcelain – intact pieces as well as shards – the remains of a load of pepper were recovered in 1976. Some pieces of porcelain have fused together with pieces of wreckage and the seabed. The delicate white wine cup became attached to a piece of iron among the shells.

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