Belgian treasure-hunter Luc Heymans holds a rare large vase from the Liao Dynasty

Ancient treasures set for auction in Indonesia

An ancient treasure trove salvaged from a 1,000-year-old shipwreck found by Indonesian fishermen is set to go under the hammer in Jakarta Wednesday with a minimum price of 80 million dollars.  Belgian treasure-hunter Luc Heymans said the haul was one of the biggest found in Asia and was comparable to the most valuable shipwreck ever found anywhere, that of the Atocha, a Spanish vessel which sank off Florida in 1622.

It includes 271,000 pieces such as rubies, pearls, gold jewellery, Fatimid rock-crystal, Iranian glassware and exquisite Chinese imperial porcelain dating back to the end of the first millennium, or around 976 AD.  “At the time there was a lot of trade going on between Arabia and India and coming down to Java and Sumatra,” said Heymans, who led the salvage effort and subsequent battles with Indonesian officialdom to bring the treasure to light.  “But we think there must have been an ambassador on board because so many pieces are imperial Chinese porcelain.”

Thanks to Alaric Bond for pointing out the article.