The most expensive Titanic artifact in existence has returned to Pigeon Forge.
Published: Jun. 29, 2020 at 2:20 PM EDT
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The most expensive Titanic artifact in existence has returned to Pigeon Forge.
The historical violin that was once owned by Wallace Harley, the bandleader on RMS Titanic, will be in Pigeon Forge at the Titanic Museum Attraction until December 2020.
“We have world exclusive rights to the violin. It was found on the bandmaster’s body a few weeks after the sinking and it also holds the world record for the highest price ever paid for a Titanic artifact at $1.7 million,” Said Jodi Justus, Titanic Museum Attraction.
The violin was found and authenticated through testing in 2005. In 2013, the violin sold at an auction by Henry Aldridge & Sons in England for $1.7 million.
“I have been here eleven years. Of all the artifacts I have been in contact with the violin gives me chills. To think that was the last thing some people heard was music from that violin,” Justus added. “And then the sacrifice the band members made to help calm everyone’s fears that night.”
Hartley and the band members played hymns while the ship sank and continued to play until the end.
“We are grateful and honored to be chosen to display this extraordinary piece of Titanic history,” Kellogg-Joslyn said. “Thank you to Henry Aldridge & Sons in England and the anonymous owner for trusting us with this prized possession.”
The Titanic Museum Attraction is open daily now, reservations and masks are required.
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