Artefacts from a sunken ship off the coast of Quang Nam Province have been retrieved and shared between the authorities and the excavating company.

 Dish with fish drawing

In 2003, the Doan Anh Duong Company won a bid to retrieve the remains from a wrecked ship found off the coast near the Cham Islands.

By 2007, Doan Anh Duong Company had salvaged nearly 16,000 artefacts including colourfully illustrated ceramics dating back to the 15th century. In 2008, the examination council divided 13,096 antiques into ten batches. The rest were damaged and have not been classified.

 Antique dish with mythical creature

The artefacts were kept at Quang Nam Province Museum until October 2012, when the Doan Anh Duong Company stopped its exploration and asked to divide the antiques.

According to the contract, Doan Anh Duong would own 70% of the artefacts with the remainder belonging to Quang Nam Province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Drawing of a horse 

However, Vo Thi Hanh Dung, head of Doan Anh Duong decided to donate all of the unclassified antiques to the provincial museum and only took seven batches through a lucky draw to display in their private museum.

It is reported that Doan Anh Duong spent VND23 billion (USD1.1 million) to raise the objects from 72 metres deep.