Researchers recover beautiful silver wedding dress from 17th-century shipwreck

In the year 1660, a ship loaded with a treasure trove filled with luxury goods drowned at the coast of Texel, which is the biggest island in the North Sea.

Almost four centuries later now, very little is left of the wooden unidentified Dutch merchant ship. However, as the silt and sand which covered the wreck washed away, what appeared was broken chests in 2010.

After four years, the chests were retrieved by divers, who brought them to the surface. In the chests were mysterious objects, the likes of which the world had never seen before, as per the researchers working at the Museum Kaap Skil in the Netherlands, where the items' exclusive collections are on display.

The researchers discovered the shipwreck at a depth of about 1,350 feet (411 meters) and its images were captured using sonar imagery. Next year, the researchers plan to capture the wreck using an ROV.

The chests retrieved were filled with silverware, clothing, textiles, leather book bindings as well as other goods which looked like lost belongings of the people from the highest social classes, a few centuries ago.

The most stunning belonging which emerged from the chests were lavish gowns, one of which was made of silk and the other one was interwoven using pieces of silver and looked like a wedding dress.

Today, clothing and textiles belonging to the 17th century remain hardly preserved which made this discovery even more rare as the fabric remained intact even in the shipwreck.

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Textile restorer Emmy de Groot said, “When I saw the clothing for the first time, I must say, that I actually found it very emotional. Clothing is something so personal. And you’re holding something in your hands that has been worn on someone’s body. How close can you come to someone from the 17th century?”

Revealed to people in November 2022, the silver dress has now become a part of the exhibition of items which were recovered from Palmwood Wreck at the Museum Kaap Skil.

(With inputs from agencies)

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