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At the bottom of the Mediterranean lies a graceful bronze sculpture by Dutch artist Theo Vos. This Serimpi dancer perched at the bottom of the stairs in the central saloon of passenger and mail ship MS Dempo. As salvaging the sculpture is too costly and may not even be possible, it was decided to make a replica and Damen Naval is helping to create a 3D scan.
The Serimpi dancer perched at the bottom of the stairs in the central saloon of passenger and mail ship MS Dempo.
“It is a very attractive sculpture by a well-known artist,” says Damen Naval Executive Director Hein van Ameijden. “It is the most famous artefact ever placed on board a Schelde-built ship. And it is now lying at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 2,000 metres.”
MS Dempo was commissioned by the Rotterdamsche Lloyd and built by the Royal Schelde Shipyard and delivered in 1931. The ship was intended for the route to and from the Dutch East Indies. Ship architect Willen Kromhout, known among other things for the Amsterdam Hotel Americain, asked artist Theo Vos to create a showpiece for the ‘social hall’ on the promenade deck. The artist created the almost life-sized Serimpi statue, inspired by a traditional Javanese dancer. The statue was placed on a 120-centimeter-high pedestal, making it a striking feature in the lounge.
Damen Naval Senior Specialist xR-Artist Niels Abrahamse takes photos of the sculpture's miniature study.
During World War II, Dempo was used as a troop transport ship for the British Ministry of War Transport. On March 17, 1944, MS Dempo was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea. Miraculously, the ship had just disembarked 3,400 troops in Naples, and the 333 crew members also managed to reach safety. However, the bronze statue went down with the ship to the bottom of the sea.
“It is the most famous artefact ever placed on board a Schelde-built ship. And it is now lying at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 2,000 metres.” Hein van Ameijden
Pictures of the sculpture (left) and the study (right) form the basis for the 3D model that Damen Naval is helping to develop.
The statue holds special significance for many art lovers and also for Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Art expert Frans Leidelmeijer and the founder of the Royal Rotterdamsche Lloyd Museum, Ed van Lierde, initiated the effort to bring the statue back to life. It soon became clear that salvaging the original statue would be an impossible task, so the decision was made to create a replica. “There are good photos of the statue and also a study; a mini-model that was also made by Theo Vos. That study has less detail than the large sculpture, but we have now made a 3D scan of it. We are going to try to edit that so that we have enough detail to make a reproduction possible,” Hein notes.
The aim is to make two bronze ‘clones’ of the SERIMPI dancer: one for the Lloyd Studio’s permanent exhibition and one for a still-to-be-confirmed museum. The casting mould could also possibly be made available to other parties, such as Damen Naval. “The project is still in its early stages. Let’s first see if we can create enough detail to recreate the image. But it is a very special project to be involved in,” Hein concludes.
