 Tilman Walterfang 's company formed a contract of cooperation with the original Indonesian salvage company and as a result the cargo was not sold off piece by piece to collectors . Although there were instances of some looting from the site , particularly between the two excavation periods , Walterfang kept the cargo intact as one complete collection so that it could be studied in its original context ; something which has given an " unparalleled insight into China 's industrial capacity and global trade " according to Julian Raby , director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery . It was housed in a private conservation facility for six years , where the artefacts were painstakingly conserved ( including desalination ) , studied , and carefully restored by Walterfang 's company , Seabed Explorations Ltd. of New Zealand . The work was carried out with the assistance of German conservator Andreas Rettel , who trained at the Römisch @-@ Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz . The artefacts were authenticated by Professor Geng Baochang , a senior research fellow at the Palace Museum in Beijing . Baochang is the deputy director of Beijing 's Forbidden City and one of China 's foremost experts on antique ceramics . 
