Object Description
pair of late 17th century blue and white miniature bottle vases from the Vung Tau cargo which sank c1690 in the South China seas about 100 miles from Vung Tau
The vessel was bound for Batavia (modern day Jakarta) where it would have been trans-shipped and sailed to Holland on a Dutch East India man.
Christies in Amsterdam in 1992 sold off about half the cargo which is where these vases would have been bought originally.
They are painted in underglaze blue on a slightly moulded body
Miniature vases began life rather as the Tradesman’s samples showing prospective purchasers shapes that could be made and the size wanted then would be decided.
After life as the sample they were then used as doys or dollhouse toys