White Gold

The exhibition "Treasures from the depths of the sea - White gold - Submerged - Discovered - Recovered", on display presented more than 250 selected artifacts - out of thousands recovered - including 200 examples of ancient Chinese porcelain. The artifacts were discovered by Franck Goddio in the wrecks of five Chinese cargo ships or "junks," which sank between the 11th and 16th centuries in the Pacific Ocean, near the coast of the Philippines.

This exhibition of Chinese porcelain was a very special event for visitors of every age. The presentation included the chance to participate in a simulated underwater excavation, to get a sense of how the undersea world looks and feels during the recovery of sunken artifacts.

Unlike on-land excavations, where history is deposited layer by layer (and frequently mixed), a ship's wreck can offer essential advantages, as it often lies undisturbed until discovery. Thus, the findings at the bottom of the sea can bear witness to a precise moment of history.

The five Chinese junks, from whose recovered cargo the "White Gold" artifacts were chosen, were excavated between 1985 and 1997. As the original names of the ships are unknown, the wrecks were named according to the site of their discovery: the reefs or small villages along the coast.