News from the Punta Cana Pewter Wreck - Global Marine Exploration

[ScubaFinder]

Here are some very good writings detailing the importance of the pewter cargo from this wreck, some of you will find this interesting.

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Cargo sheds new light on pewter

Doncaster auctioneer Sid Wilkinson is to sell items from a huge cache of Tudor pewter tablewares recently discovered by professional treasure hunters off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

The cargo of the so-called 'Pewter Wreck', has been described by a UK specialist as "unique in the 120-year history of the study and collecting of pewter". Divers from Anchor Research and Salvage (a division of Global Marine Exploration, a private company based in Tampa, Florida) found the remains of a 16th century ship and its cargo of European trade goods off Punta Cana on the island of Hispaniola in 2011. Under contract from the Underwater Cultural Heritage division of the Dominican Minister of Culture's office, the site was excavated across three dive seasons - the task finally completed earlier this year. Chief among the finds are some 1200 well-preserved pewter sad and hollow wares including plates, platters, porringers, salts and flagons in several sizes and styles. Some carry the marks for pewterers from the Flemish centres of Antwerp and Bruges, but it seems much was made in England specifically for the export market.

Shedding New Light

Up to a third bears the touchmark of Alderman Sir Thomas Curtis, the most important London pewterer of the period, whose mark also appears on much of the pewter from the Mary Rose. Many other makers' marks are unrecorded, with the range of forms and styles already challenging orthodoxies in the collecting community. Until now, recorded objects of this type and date, numbered in the tens, not the hundreds. The size and diversity of the group, and the absence of signs of use (ownership marks, knife marks etc), suggest these were new trade goods lost on their way to one of the Spanish colonies between the late 1540s and the early 1560s.

According to procedure, 75% of all finds from the Punta Cana wreck will remain in the Dominican Republic and become museum exhibits. But, following a 'division' process, Global Marine Exploration are free to sell their quarter share on the open market. While the gold and silver artefacts, including some rare Spanish coinage, are being sold in the USA, upon the advice of Martin Roberts, the UK specialist who worked as a consultant on the site, the pewter and other pieces of early metalwork will be offered in the UK. The consignment is currently in transit to Doncaster but Wilkinson's, specialists in early furniture and works of art, expect to offer up to 230 pieces at their sale on November 24. Estimates are yet to be set.

- See more at: Cargo sheds new light on pewter : Antiques trade gazette

 

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[ScubaFinder]

And another:

The Importance of the Punta Cana Pewter Wreck

Martin Roberts, the UK specialist who worked as a consultant on the Punta Cana site, discusses the importance of the Pewter Wreck.

Hispaniola, a name redolent with tales of pirates and the riches of the New World, is giving up treasures in simple pewter too. Just off Punta Cana, the easternmost point of the island, the remains of a ship and its cargo of European trade goods were found in 2011. Probably a Spanish merchantman out of Seville, the vessel had nearly reached the end of its long and hazardous crossing of the Atlantic when it came to grief. We do not yet know the identity of the ship, but we do know it must have sunk between the late 1540s and the early 1560s. For two and a half years divers have worked to recover the cargo, often having to chisel through several inches of rock to reach the artefacts beneath. What they found is astounding: an intact export cargo of non-perishable wares, made in Europe in the mid 16th century. Chief among the finds are some 1200 pieces of pewter tableware, enough to lay a banquet for more than 100 diners.

This is the largest assemblage of pewter ever discovered, and that it should be of such early date is doubly amazing. About a third bears the mark of Alderman Sir Thomas Curtis, the most important London pewterer of the 16th Century, Mayor of London in 1557 - his mark also appears on much of the pewter from the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship, lost in 1545. Tens of other makers' marks have been recorded, many of which can now be attributed to pewterers who worked in London, Antwerp and Bruges. Like a Rosetta Stone, this discovery is serving as a key to help interpret much more about the pewter and pewterers of the 16th century. The condition of the pewter is astonishing: some is as good as it was when it left the workshops in London and Low Countries.

Without the familiar patina pewter acquires when exposed to the air, we can now better appreciate Harrison's observation from hisDescription of Englandin 1577: "a garnish of good… English pewter [is] esteemed almost so precious as the like number of vessels that are made of fine silver". Pewter makes up about half the cargo from Punta Cana. Other finds include brass bowls and weights from Nuremburg, Venetian-style glass, bronze mortars cast in Castilian foundries, bars of tin likely mined in Cornwall, brass candlesticks, Andalusian ceramics, bone combs perhaps made in Paris, ivory pocket sundials, thimbles, bundles of cloth (from which only the leaden cloth seals survive), and a wide range of other trade goods of the time.

- See more at: The importance of the Punta Cana Pewter Wreck : Antiques trade gazette

 

[huntsman53]

Great reading Jason, thanks! Good luck to you all at Global Marine Exploration, Inc. with the upcoming auctions!


Frank

 

[thetigers2]

Also a Thanks here Jason.......

 

[G.I.B.]

Thanks for the info, all very interesting.

I'm looking forward to the opportunity of helping out one day...

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

That's great stuff there Jason, it doesn't get much better then that.
Oh, I have my trip to the DR booked for March and yes I am bringing the Sea Hunter.
Hopefully I might get a chance to visit the museum, even if the display isn't ready. And, maybe if I talk nicely I can get a behind the scenes tour.
ZDD

 

[whydahdiver]

Great stuff indeed. The silence of the archaeological community at large is deafening despite the undeniable significance of the artifacts you guys have recovered. Let's see if any of them ever reference your collection in their publications or use it as a research tool. Don't hold your breath!


WHYDAH Diver

 

[ScubaFinder]

Great stuff indeed. The silence of the archaeological community at large is deafening despite the undeniable significance of the artifacts you guys have recovered. Let's see if any of them ever reference your collection in their publications or use it as a research tool. Don't hold your breath!


WHYDAH Diver

I couldn't agree more Bob, but there has actually been some interest and communication going on, even with some folks at Texas A&M. We are sending a few representative pewter examples to an archaeologist who will remain nameless, he did some of the research on the pewter from the 1554 fleet off Padre Island Texas. Another archaeologist called and requested a study collection of other items from the wreck which we provided also. Texas A&M will get a complete set of the recovery reports when we go to press again. I have hidden a publication online so that mostly only academic archaeologists would ever find it, and it has been downloaded and viewed 100's of times...not a single comment, but people are reading it. It will take baby steps to bring the two communities together. I try to take at least one baby step each day, no matter how small. Each time I gain a little respect from an academic, another board goes into the proverbial bridge. I'm not trying to get the academic community to suddenly condone artifact sales, but I am getting a few to realize that some of us are doing damn good work, and in the end archaeology is about the DATA, not the artifacts.

Some of my best friends think I am an idiot, wasting my time trying to climb the ivory tower. Maybe I am, but I fully believe that archaeology as a whole is better with our work than it is without it. At the end of the day we are all archaeologists, some of us do great work, others not so much. We do all find data that should be recorded and added to the archaeological record, the dismantling of the Isolated Finds Program prevents this in Florida now, unfortunately. Dismissing my data simply does not make sense for archaeology, it is good and accurate data that was properly recorded. If a guy in a private lab solved the mystery of cancer, would the medical community not use his info because he didn't have the right degree? Amatuers have always made incredible contributions to science...and archaeologists are the only scientists who categorically disregard amatuer's work. There is simply no justification for that stance, and it is counter-productive to the very science they are charged with doing.

 

[Salvor6]

Is your wreck part of the "plate" fleet?

 

[whydahdiver]

Good for you, can you send me the link to the article?

 

[bikerlawyer]

Well said Jason!

 

[Au_Dreamers]

$42,500 for the swivel gun!!

Good prices on all those items!!

 

[bikerlawyer]

If it is the one I saw at their lab it was a beauty. With a matching # breech block to boot!

 

[ScubaFinder]

Yep, that was the one Brad, I was hoping it would go over $20K and we were all pleasantly surprised when it closed at more than double that. Everyone here was pretty happy with everything, I was hoping the Santo Domingo mint coins would do a little better but everything else more than made up for that. It is sure nice to have come full circle with this interesting wreck. To me we have done something not too many have accomplished; research, search, find, salvage, divide, conserve, document and sell. That is definitely not an easy set of tasks to complete, and everyone here at GME is proud that we have done it. This is just the beginning though, we have another auction set (details coming very soon) and have already made some great finds on some new wrecks that we cannot talk about yet. Personally I am very pleased to be a part of this organization, I think we are doing very good work and I think our future looks very bright. It hasn't been easy for any of us, but if it was easy it probably wouldn't interest us as much.

 

[Darren in NC]

You guys have done better than most, Jason. I, for one, am proud of the integrity GME has had from day one - both for the salvage community and for all history lovers - academic or otherwise.

 

[diverlynn]

Jason,
This certainly my definition of a successful salvage company. You must be proud.

DL

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Well done, Jason.
ZDD

 

[Bobadilla]

Jason, my dear brother, it is well said from you and I am really happy that we (yes, I am proud to be part, though distant, but from historical evolution point of view, part of this team) have shown to everybody that treasure hunters can be at the same time also marine archaeologists respecting the historical value of the artifacts, not only monetary value. Your deep research about pewter plates, spent time and perseverance in finding the objective information could be bright example for many others how to do right this business. Keep rolling.......!

Lobo

 

[ScubaFinder]

Thanks for the comments everyone, Lubos my brother you are still a part of it and who knows what the future holds. Since this information is publicly available now and already crawling on Facebook and other avenues, check out this article...the photography is excellent. I have many hours conserving and polishing this pewter along with several of my co-workers and to see it looking so good is nice. Enjoy!


Treasure recovered from Caribbean wreck has same historical value as bounty found on Mary Rose | Mail Online

 

[G.I.B.]

Super work Jason, don't forget my offer as a volunteer...