An Elegant Enigma

The luxurious possessions of a seventeenth-century woman continue to intrigue researchers a decade after they were retrieved from a shipwreck

- By Jarrett A. Lobell

The elegantly dressed woman ran her eye around the large, empty living room that had once been filled with richly hued silk-and-wool carpets made in Lahore, finely carved furniture, and calf leather-bound books. She thought of the large dining table set for so many parties with shiny silver goblets and blue-and-white Chinese porcelain, and she wondered what her life would be like in the future. She had spent decades in this far-off land, but it was time to leave. Her belongings had been packed in four heavy chests weeks before, sent ahead to arrive and be put away before she and her family even embarked on the ship that would bring them home. She thought about how happy and relieved she would be when she saw some of her precious personal items again. There was the red velvet purse with silver embroidery she carried to special events, the finest pair of silk stockings she owned, her ivory comb and pig-bristle brush, the little standing mirror she used to take a last look at herself each morning and evening, and two priceless dresses, one of which she treasured most of all.

Who was this woman? No one knows.