The Cargo

Little of the cargo remains.

However among the recognisable items are what appear to be glass bracelets some of which are marked with what appears to be Muslim symbols of the moon and star and others with an additional symbol of an elephant. This would possibly to indicate their ultimate destination as being India and certainly line up with the destination of the vessel and the trade in such items known to have been carried on from Trieste at that time.

Bangle (Photograph Mick McTiernan)

Blue glass bangle in situ. (Photograph Nicos Bolanakis)

One suggestion as to the use of these items, based on the small size of many of them and their obvious fragility, is that they are not bracelets but rather that they are reflectors for the necks of oil lamps. This would tie in with the presence of a cache of oil lamps which are concreted into some of the rocks around the wreck but would not appear to line up with the existence of symbols on the objects or the fact that at least one of the existing rings is painted on the inside of the ring with opaque paint in order to change the apparent colour of the ring.

Scattered throughout the whole of the area of the wreck are innumerable glass and paste beads, predominantly blue in colour. The small ones, approx. 3mm in diameter, being mostly dark blue and the larger ones, approx. 7mm and 17mm diameter, being mostly a very pale blue. (See Appendix 6 for photograph of the glassware)

It would appear that at the turn of the 19th century there was a significant trade in glass and imitation glass beads manufactured in Germany, particularly from the town of Gablonz in Bohemia and shipped from Trieste to India. This is evidenced by the extract below from the Gablonzer Industrie Germany website

"As early as the mid-nineteenth century people all over the world were fascinated by the jewellery made in Gablonz. Glass, pearls, rhinestones, cabouchons, necklaces, brooches, ear jewellery - the creative power of the craftsmen from Gablonz was boundless. Bangles, bracelets made of glass, were the best sellers at the turn of the century. They were sold to India in incredible quantities, safely packed and shipped on the "Gablonz", an Austrian liner regularly serving the Trieste-Bombay route."

The Gablonz

Oil lamp wick adjuster wheel (Photo Nicos Bolanakis)

Amongst the rocks on the wreck are several groups of highly concreted oil lamps, none of which are in a state to be recovered. However, at least one wick adjuster wheel has been recovered and has enabled the lamps to be tentatively identified.

Also amongst the wreckage are numerous items and fragments of pottery some of which appear to be plates and others coffee cups. Most of these appear to have been mass produced factory ware and, given the quantity, presumably part of the cargo

Coffee cups (Photograph Mick McTiernan)

Even after nearly 100 years under water, the glassware carried by the Imperatrix is still impressive in its beauty as this photograph.   Glassware (The object in the centre is a perfume applicator, not a hypodermic syringe!) (Photograph Mick McTiernan)