Brunei's Underwater Treasures On Regional Expo Tour In Australia
By Maya Salleh

Bandar Seri Begawan - The National Museum of Australia will be unveiling the secrets of a massive shipload of ceramics, which lay at the bottom of the sea for 500 years in an exhibition to be opened on August 3 .

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer will open the exhibition.

The amazing array of artifacts, excavated cargo of precious 15th to 16th century ceramics will be displayed imbuing with secrets of 500 years ago.

The ceramic antiques, which also trace the ambitious archaeological excavation expedition uncovered on board a ship, which sank off the coast of Brunei and lay undiscovered in the South China Sea by a French oil company, TOTAL, in May 1997, under 63 metres of water.

Following the findings, excavation works commenced in 1998, with the aid of the French Government Archaeological expedition led by Mr Michael L'Hour, a well-known underwater archaeologist.

The ship described to be far larger than its European counterparts, is one of the most significant maritime discoveries in the South China Sea, long dubbed as Asia's Mediterranean for its vigorous commercial activity.

The challenging excavation, using sonar, manned submersibles and remote operated vehicles, is extensively documented. The professional diving team worked during violent storms and with almost no underwater visibility to uncover more than 15,000 artefacts.

The exhibition includes 500 beautiful pots, jars and bowls, diversely glazed and decorated with intricate floral and mythical motifs, originating from Thailand, Vietnam and China's Ming Dynasty.

The curator of the National Museum of Australia said, "It was an underwater archaeologist's dream to find so many wonderful objects, many still intact, from a single ship."

He added, "These objects help to tell a story of vigorous South East Asian sea trade, which began long before Europeans arrived."

Craddock Morton, National Museum acting director, found that with Australia's own important maritime history unfolding with recent shipwreck discoveries, the excavation was so powerfully brought to life in the forthcoming exhibition as it will reveal the extensive trade between Australia's neighbouring countries.

The exhibition will promise a remarkable experience as creative "interactive" will allow visitors to share the underwater adventure by donning a diving a diving helmet, hearing underwater sounds and communication, and watching the archaeological progress on the sea floor.

Aimed to display the long and rich history of the Brunei Sultanate as the centre of a trading empire in the pre-Western colonial era that reached throughout South East Asia and China and beyond, was first showcased in the land of down under, in December last year at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.

The exhibition will continue its travel across Australia until early next year. The wide coverage across the Australian continent should ensure that awareness about Brunei Darussalam and its history is spread more widely through Australia, coinciding with the 20th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Brunei Darussalam as a fully independent sovereign state.

"Lostafor 500 years... Sunken Treasures of Brunei Darussalam" exhibition is visiting Australia under the patronage of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei and facilitated in its Australian tour by the Australian Government through Art Exhibitions Australia, as exhibition arranger.

The exhibition tour is sponsored by BHP Billion, Australia's largest mining and Petroleum Company.

On show until October 4, the exhibition will later travel to the Western Australian Maritime Museum. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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