Chinese Diana Cargo ‘Starburst’ Blue & White Charger, c. 1816

A blue and white ‘Starburst’ charger from the Diana shipwreck in 1817. Decorated in underglaze blue in a dissolved chrysanthemum design, comprising full blooms alternating with pairs of dissolved conch shells. On the reverse are four floral spays with a Christie‘s auction sticker from March 1995, lot 621.

The dish is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks to the body. There is some fritting to the unglazed foot rim. The bluish glaze has been gently worn by the sea water, leaving a tactile feel.

he Diana was a freight ship owned by John Palmer, the wealthiest and most influential merchant in British India at the time. It was licensed by the English East India Company to sail from Calcutta or Madras to Canton. The Diana had just completed a lucrative trip to China, shipping cotton and opium from India to Canton and was now on the return leg of her journey to Madras, laden with silks, tea, preserved ginger and a large consignment of blue and white porcelain when she hit some rocks off the Straits of Malacca and sank. The wreck was identified and recovered in 1994 by Dorian Ball of Malaysian Historical Salvors, after three years of searching. Christie‘s auctioned the porcelain cargo in Amsterdam in March 1995. The ‘Starburst‘ pattern, in various sizes, were sold over the lots: 374-416, 434-436, 437, 618-673, 1188-1198, 1210-1223, 1236-1252, 1256-1277, 1280-1283 & 1289-1295.