Artefacts from historic shipwreck returned to the Indonesian Government

via the Australian Federal Police, 17 August 2022: Antiquities salvaged from the Tek Sing shipwreck in Indonesia have been seized by the Australian police and will be repatriated.

Hundreds of culturally significant artefacts from an historic Asian shipwreck that were offered for sale online before being seized under Australian legislation have been returned to the Indonesian Government.

In 2019, The AFP’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau (INTERPOL Canberra) received a formal request for assistance from the Office of the Arts after a number of porcelain objects that had been salvaged from the Tek Sing shipwreck were advertised for sale on a Perth online marketplace.

INTERPOL Canberra, Office of the Arts and AFP Western Command then initiated a joint investigation into these objects with AFP Western Command finally seizing 333 objects on 9 March 2022 under the Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act 1986

The Tek Sing, which was a 60m-long junk with about 1500 people on board, sank in the South China Sea off the Indonesian coast in 1822.

Source: Artefacts from historic shipwreck returned to the Indonesian Government | Australian Federal Police

See also:

• Hundreds of culturally significant shipwreck artefacts for sale in Perth seized and returned to Indonesia | The West Australian, 17 Aug 2022
• Treasures of the Tek Sing to return to Indonesia | The Hon Tony Burke MP, 17 Aug 2022