When the sea-going junk Tek Sing sank on 5 February 1822, it took one of China’s finest collections of porcelain down with it. The wreck was located and raised in 1999, and the auctioneers Nagel obtained the right to auction the cargo. As a framework for this outstanding event, we designed and implemented a five-month exhibition at Stuttgart’s main railway station.

Inside the three rooms of a custom built, junk-shaped building, we showed how the wreck was found, how archaeologists examined it, how the catastrophe happened and finally, the porcelain itself. Computer simulations, film footage and real-life exhibits joined forces to create a totally new kind of experience. The exhibition (and the auction) had a wide-ranging impact, and their reputation endures to this day.