2079

Daguerreotype: "Mona Lisa of the Deep," S.S. Central America Treasure, 1857 [146604]

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 100,000.00 USD
Daguerreotype:  Mona Lisa of the Deep,  S.S. Central America Treasure, 1857 [146604]
SOLD
61,000.00USD+ (12,200.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Mar 04 @ 16:11UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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Daguerreotype recovered from the S.S. Central America shipwreck. Shows a young woman, hands in her lap, with curling tresses falling past her shoulders, wearing a lacy blouse. The identity of this individual is unknowable, but she has been given the name "Mona Lisa of the Deep" because of her striking pose, enigmatic smile, and the exquisite, almost startling, clarity of this image.

It was found on a pile of coal, facing up and looking directly at the video camera (see image) when it was discovered. It is 2.5 x 2 inches.

The "Mona Lisa of antique photographs" is the prize photograph discovery. It was the subject of an extensive article in the Guardian in 2022. That article nailed some key aspects beautifully. This photograph is remarkable on a number of fronts. First, it is composed beautifully, with the woman sitting in a position that begs for an understanding of depth of field. The curls in her hair, the accentuation of the bust pose, all scream for a three-dimensional depth perception. That is simply not present in other two-dimensional photographs of the period.

In the Guardian article, the photograph was compared to a Leonardo DaVinci painting. This discussion is spot-on when reading the excellent analysis of Walter Isaacson's recent biography of DaVinci, in which he details how the painter painstakingly experimented with, and found a way to use shading and color to render a three-dimensional effect. That is exactly what separates this spectacular photograph from all the rest Ò a three-dimensional interpretation of the photo through your eyes as if the woman was right in front of you.

Daguerreotypes were made on a silver-plated copper plate, polished to a mirror finish, then sensitized by exposing the plate to the fumes of iodine or bromine. After being exposed to light through a lens, the image was developed by exposing the plate to the fumes of mercury until the direct positive image appeared, then fixed in a bath of sodium thiosulfate or ordinary salt.

This photograph (and others) was restored and conserved by Paul Messier, a true master. It is mounted in a 4 x 5-inch archival frame, glazed front and back.

Provenance: SS Central America Collection