The ‘Mona Lisa of the Deep’: A 167-Year-Old Portrait Dredges Up Treasure and Tales

In 2014, deep-sea explorers made an astonishing discovery in the wreck of the SS Central America, a 19th-century steamship that met its tragic end in 1857. Among the vast treasure trove of gold coins and artifacts, one particular item stood out—a hauntingly beautiful daguerreotype of an unknown woman. Resting 7,200 feet beneath the ocean surface off the coast of South Carolina for over 150 years, this photograph has been dubbed the “Mona Lisa of the Deep.”

The SS Central America, often referred to as the “Ship of Gold,” was a vessel carrying tons of California gold bound for the U.S. East Coast when it sank during a hurricane. The loss of the ship not only resulted in the deaths of over 400 people but also contributed to the financial Panic of 1857. The wreck remained lost to history until it was rediscovered in the late 20th century.

The daguerreotype, an early form of photography that captured images on silver-plated copper, was remarkably well-preserved despite spending over a century and a half submerged in the ocean’s crushing depths. The image shows a woman with piercing eyes, dressed in elegant black lace, her expression frozen in time. The identity of the woman remains a mystery, and it is unclear whether she was a passenger aboard the ill-fated vessel or if her image belonged to someone who perished in the wreck.

This relic of personal history, juxtaposed against the immense wealth recovered from the SS Central America, reminds us that the true treasures of the past are not only measured in gold but in the stories and faces of those who came before us. The discovery of the “Mona Lisa of the Deep” offers a poignant connection to the human lives lost at sea and serves as a testament to the enduring power of photography to preserve memory.

With the treasure from the shipwreck estimated to be worth over $765 million in 2021 dollars, the daguerreotype remains an invaluable piece of history—one that, despite its lack of monetary value, holds an irreplaceable emotional and historical significance. Who was this woman? What was her story? These questions may never be answered, but her face, now recovered from the abyss, continues to captivate the imagination of those who seek to uncover the past.