Musée national des Arts asiatiques-Guimet, Paris

The Maritime Trade Routes Gallery

Musée national des Arts asiatiques-Guimet, Paris

In the context of the renovation of the Musée national des Arts asiatiques Guimet and its re-opening in 2001, Franck Goddio donated a collection of around 200 artifacts related to the inter-Asia trade coming from the underwater excavations he conducted on junk wrecks and European galleons off the Philippines’ shores. This donation enabled curator Jean-Paul Desroches to create within the China department a new gallery retracing nearly seven centuries of trade between China, the Middle East and Europe. Around the year 1000, the silk road lost its appeal and a significant part of it took to the sea, especially ceramics. The artefacts displayed document the cargo from three junks, two Spanish galleons and one English ship.