Indonesia to Auction Ancient Shipwreck Treasure
JAKARTA.- Indonesia will auction on Wednesday a 10th century treasure trove worth an estimated $80 million which was salvaged from a Chinese shipwreck off the island of Java about five years ago.
Gold jewelry studded with rubies and sapphires as well as Chinese porcelain are among the 271,000 items that will go under the hammer at a government auction house in Jakarta, an official said.
“Ceramics account for about 90 percent of the findings,” Aris Kabul, the secretary of the auction committee, told Reuters.
The shipwreck was found 90 miles off Cirebon, in West Java, following a tip-off from local fishermen in 2004 and it took 30 divers and some 22,000 dives to recover the treasure.
Empty chairs of auction participants are pictured during an auction of ancient treasures worth a total of 80 million US dollars salvaged from a 1,000-year-old shipwreck in Jakarta, Indonesia, 05 May 2010. The auction of treasure salvaged from a sunken 10th-century Chinese ship off Indonesia's Java island yielded no bids on 05 May 2010. Organizers had hoped to raise 80 million dollars for the 271,000 items, which included pearls, gold jewellery, Iranian glassware and Chinese ceramics. A 16-million dollar deposit was required by the Indonesian government to bid. EPA/MAST IRHAM
About 20 companies and individuals have shown interest in the auction, said an Indonesian fisheries ministry official, Sudirman Saad.
“Most have come from Beijing, although there is also the National Museum of Singapore,” Saad said.
Saad said that despite expressing interest, no one had paid the $16 million advance money until the deadline on Tuesday. Under government rules, a bidder must deposit 20 percent of the total estimated value to join the auction.
Under the rules, the government can sell directly to auction houses or museums after three auctions.
The Indonesian government has agreed to split the money with a private salvage company which helped recover the treasure.
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