The Ca Mau Shipwreck Porcelain (1723-1735) 1. [antikvár]

''I,!.,' the Ca Mau Shipwreck porcelain The Collector's Preface by István Zelnik* I am delighted to be handing over the next volume in the series of publications on my collection to the Reader: the first part on the ceramic material from the Ca Mau shipwreck. Anyone who has ever held such an object in their hands, one that has lain at the bottom of the ocean for centuries, will certainly understand the passion that has driven me to buy these art treasures over the past decade. I am also immensely happy that in this volume I am once again able to publish a study of exhaustive thoroughness by the Chairman of the Ca Mau Ancient Ship Excavation Committee, Dr. IMguyIn Dinh Chién. One which he first published in Hanoi in 2002 in the now hard to come by Tan CO Ca Mau - The Ca Mau Shipwreck 1723-1735. Dr. Chién is not only the Chief Curator of the National Museum of Vietnamese History (NMVH), nor even only the most revered expert on marine archaeological finds and porcelain objects in particular, but I am very proud to say that as a result of our shared passion he is also a personal friend. Dr. Chien's pioneering work presents the most beautiful items among the 130 thousand objects brought to the surface, and moreover their detailed categorisation, which has also made it the inevitable starting point for any scientific study. Thus it was important to me that the Reader should be able to determine the value of my objects - modest in number, but selected through a decade of work -specifically in the light of this indisputably expert authority and the experience obtained through being in close proximity from the moment of lifting out the very first object through to the careful definition of the very last vessel: an experience unique in the world. In Hanoi recently, I signed an agreement with the leader of the NMVH and with the co-author of that book, unarguably significant from numerous professional aspects, namely Director Dr. Pham Quoc Quan and with Professor Dr. Chién. This was to offer the world the most beautiful items among the shipwreck finds that sunk off the coast of Vietnam and were brought to the surface in the past decade, set in another mutual publication within the shortest possible time. Naturally, I am aware that over the past decade, most recently in 2008, several publications of fundamental significance conceerning marine archaeological finds have come to light, including the NMVH publication. I, too, have supported and intend to continue to support the widest spread of such pricelessly valuable professional knowledge with a considerable sum. Nevertheless, I also wish to contribute directly to the presentation of the unique and pioneering work with my own modest means, to offer the world a glimpse of the still unknown items from the dozen or so wrecks excavated along the coast of Vietnam over the past decade. I am especially pleased that Dr. Györgyi Fajcsák, sinologist, the Director a.i. of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts and the greatest Hungarian authority on Chinese porcelain has also agreed to give a written summary of her experiences after taking every single item in my collection in her hands. Dr. Fajcsák's work is especially precious to me since it is the first publication on the subject by a Hungarian expert. I hope that with Dr. Fajcsák's collaboration, in the future I shall find ways to involve more young Hungarian experts in viewing the study of art treasures from shipwrecks as a possible path for their scientific career. I shall, of course, continue to place the remaining items of my collection at their disposal. What justifies the passion that I experience with the purchase of every single one of these objects? Well, it is my hope that this particular volume will demonstrate that quite a few reasons can be enume- ' Owner, President & CEO of the Hungarian Indochina Investment & Development Corporation