A Pair of Very Rare Saddled Ponies Geldermalsen ‘Nanking Cargo’

Qianlong Period c.1751, Jingdezhen Kilns. Sold individually at Christie’s Amsterdam in 1986, two horse were on average equivalent to around €9,896. (£8,638). These very rare survivals from the wreck of the V.O.C. (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) ship the Geldermalsen, referred to as The Nanking Cargo, would have be part of the privileged Private Trade allowed by V.O.C. to the Captain and officers of the ship. I have described these as very rare, there were only five individual ponies offered for sale at the Christie’s Amsterdam auction of the Nanking Cargo. They are illustrated in the Christie’s catalogue of the auction of 1986, and Dr. Christiaan Jörg’s book ‘The Geldermalsen, History and Porcelain’ and also ‘The Nanking Cargo’ by Michael Hatcher with Antony Thorncroft (see references). Fragile objects like these ponies were stored away safely by the officers, they were allowed to sell them to supplement their income from the V.O.C. These ponies are mould made with some small additions by hand. Models such as the present example were luted together from moulded sections. In 18th century England the people who carried out this process were called ‘repairers’, indeed the process is similar to repairing broken ceramics, except that you use clay as your glue. Wet clay was used to stick the leather-hard moulded sections together, the process is referred to as luting from the Latin Lutum meaning mud or clay. To help made sure the join will be as strong as possible the edges of the clay sections are scored, so the luting material really binds with the joining surfaces, especially when firm pressure is applied. The luted joins are then cleaned, smoothed down, so the piece looks seamless.

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