Titanic: a statue of Diana found in the wreck

One of the treasures sunk 112 years ago during the terrible sinking of the Titanic has just resurfaced. During a underwater expedition conducted during the investigation into the implosion of the Titan submersible in June 2023, the American company RMS Titanic Inc. (holder of the recovery rights to the wreck site) has found the bronze statue Diana of Versailleswhich we thought was lost forever!

On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the British liner sank off the coast of Newfoundland (Canada) after hitting an iceberg. in the icy waters of the North Atlanticresulting in the deaths of approximately 1,500 passengers and crew.

Statue found nearly 40 years after first discovery

Standing 60 centimeters tall, this reduced-size copy of the statue of the same name which sits in the Louvre Museum (replica of II^e century of an ancient statue from the 4th century^e century BC representing Diana, Roman goddess of the hunt) was placed on the fireplace mantel of the Titanic’s “grand salon” – a large Louis XV-style room where first-class passengers could relax and enjoy a panoramic view of the ocean. Photographed in the wreck in 1986 at a depth of 3,800 metres by an oceanographer, the work could not subsequently be located.

The fact that she is and bronze allowed it to survive underwater for over a century. The photograph shows it partially buried in sedimentsbut clearly identifiable, down to the refined folds of the goddess’s tunic.

The wreck in poor condition

RMS Titanic Inc. took the opportunity to fully map the wreck and its debris field.

But the joy of finding the sculpture was offset by a sad discovery: the collapse of the iconic bow railing (which was still standing in 2022) surrounding the ship’s foredeck. RMS Titanic Inc. took the opportunity to fully map the wreck and its debris field, in order to identify important artifacts for future recovery.

The luxurious ship, which had many aristocrats and millionaires on board, sank with the numerous treasures that decorated its lounges and cabinsor that passengers had in their luggage. Among them, The Circassian woman in the bath by the French neoclassical painter Merry-Joseph Blondel (1814) and a collection of Persian poems from the 11th century^e century decorated with gold and precious stones. The presence on board the Young Ladies of Avignon of Picasso and the Water Lilies by Monet, which can be seen in Rose’s cabin in the James Cameron film (1997), on the other hand, is an invention of the Canadian director – and an anachronism with regard to the impressionist painting since the latter was painted in the 1920s, around ten years after the shipwreck!