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Lost and Found at Sea

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This is an assortment of artifacts retrieved from the wreck of a seventeenth-century Dutch merchant ship that was discovered in the Wadden Sea off the small island of Texel. Credit for all photos is Courtesy Museum Kaap Skil.  

  • A brass-and-gold box for holding face powder decorated with an image of a reclining woman is one of the opulent artifacts recovered from the wreck that may have belonged to an affluent woman who is thought to have owned many of the ship’s other expensive objects.
  • A highly decorative sixteenth-century German gilded silver cup topped with a figure of Mars, the Roman god of war, was heavily corroded and broken into three parts and partially flattened when it was recovered from the wreck. It has since been restored to its original form.
  • More than 30 leather book bindings were recovered from the wreck, including this Polish example. Researchers believe it’s possible that the books were part of a large library. The book bindings also include examples from England, France, Germany, and Amsterdam.
  • This ornately embroidered silk velvet cover of a standing table mirror was found among the objects belonging to a luxurious toiletry set recovered from the wreck. It likely belonged to the same affluent woman.
  • A silk-covered brush is also thought to have belonged to the affluent woman and to have sat on her dressing table along with a pincushion and the mirror.

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(c) 2024 Archaeology Magazine, a Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America