of body: 4.0 cm
This opium container of an almost spherical form is incised with floral motifs. It was part of a group of ceramics salvaged from the Tek Sing shipwreck that sank in 1822. Selling opium or opium pipes then was an offence punishable by banishment to the northern frontier but that did not deter the merchants. By 1822, the high level of opium trade was indicative of an unprecedented and growing crisis in Chinese society. A total of 350,000 pieces were retrieved from the ship, the largest haul of Chinese porcelain to date. This large haul indicates that the Southeast Asian demand for such products was high at that time. The bulk of the cargo was aimed at the wealthy Chinese community in Java and the middle and upper-class Javanese who were fond of collecting Chinese porcelain.
