The Tsarina's Lost Treasure : Catherine the Great, a Golden Age Masterpiece, and a Legendary Shipwreck Gerald Easter, Mara Vorhees
The legendary Vrouw Maria, filled with masterpieces intended for Catherine the Great, lay sleeping off the coast of Finland for more than two centuries before a shipwreck hunter found it. The masterpieces included The Nursery and a triptych by the great Dutch artist Garrit Dou, and Catherine went to huge efforts to try to find the ship with her prized art purchases.
Eventually, it became a modern international news story involving the Dutch, the Russians, the Finnish and the Swedes, and a law case which went right to the top. This book is a fascinating look at the life of Garrit Dou, the hunt for the shipwreck, the importance of underwater cultural heritage and the intricate law case. I especially enjoyed reading about the law case, but I also liked reading about Catherine's part in the history of the ship.
I received this free ebook from Edelweiss in return for an honest review.
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