Santa Margarita Porcelain Fragment 1986.008.0897

3D Model

In 1564, Spanish ships crossed the Pacific Ocean from Mexico and established a colony at Manila. This outpost gave Spain direct access to highly desired Asian goods. For the next 250 years, a large amount of silk, spices, jewelry, and porcelain was carried across the Pacific Ocean, taken overland across Mexico to the Caribbean, and then shipped to Spain. A small amount of blue-on-white Chinese porcelain was found on the wreck of the 1622 galleon Santa Margarita. The small number of fragments recovered from the wreck suggest the porcelain vessels on the Margarita were personal possessions and not a cargo.