Belitung Shipwreck treasures to be exhibited at the Smithsonian

The treasures from the Belitung Shipwreck will be exhibited internationally for the first time, starting with Singapore later this year, and in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in 2012.

Rare find to debut in S’pore
Straits Times, 27 July 2010

ONE of the oldest and most important marine archaeological finds of the late 20th century will be showcased in Singapore.

The Singapore Tourism Board and the National Heritage Board of Singapore will partner the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC to hold the first exhibition late this year or early 2011, a joint statement said on Tuesday.

The exhibition will focus on the 1998 discovery of a ninth-century shipwreck and its cargo of about 60,000 objects from Tang dynasty China, ranging from mass-produced ceramics to rare items of finely worked gold.