Editing Jules Dumont d'Urville (section)

=== In the Aegean Sea ===
In 1819, Dumont d'Urville sailed on board ''Chevrette'', under the command of Captain [[Pierre Henri Gauttier Duparc|Gauttier-Duparc]], to carry out a [[hydrographic survey]] of the islands of the Greek archipelago. During a pause near the island of [[Milos]], the local French representative brought to Dumont's attention the rediscovery of a marble statue a few days before (8 April 1820) by a local [[peasant]].  The statue, now known as the ''[[Venus de Milo]]'', dates from around the year 130 BC.

Dumont recognised its value and would have acquired it immediately, but the ship's commander pointed out that there was not enough space on board for an object of its size.  Moreover, the expedition was likely to proceed through stormy seas that could damage it.  Dumont then wrote to the French ambassador to [[Constantinople]] about its discovery.<ref group="note">”... je fus le premier à en remettre une description détaillée à M. le marquis de Rivière, à Constantinople. Grâce à son empressement, à son amour pour les beaux arts et aux efforts de M. de Marcellus, la France n'a pas eu le regret de voir passer en mains étrangères ce précieux reste d'antiquité...” (“…I was the first one to supply a detailed description to the [[Charles François de Riffardeau, marquis de Rivière|M. le marquis de Rivière]], in Constantinople.  Thanks to his enthusiasm, his love of fine arts and to the efforts of M. de Marcellus, France has been able to avoid the regret to see this precious piece of antiquity pass into foreign hands…”) Note on the underground galleries of the island of Milos, by J. Dumont d’Urville, in ''Nouvelles annales des voyages, de géographie et de histoire'', volume XXVII. Paris: Gide, 1825.{{in lang|fr}}
</ref> ''Chevrette'' arrived in Constantinople on 22 April and Dumont succeeded in convincing the ambassador to acquire the statue.

Meanwhile, the peasant had sold the statue to a priest, Macario Verghis, who wished to present it as a gift to an interpreter for the [[Sultan]] in Constantinople.  The French ambassador's representative arrived just as the statue was being loaded aboard a ship bound for Constantinople and persuaded the island's primates (chief citizens) to annul the sale and honour the first offer.  This earned Dumont the title of ''Chevalier'' ([[knight]]) of the [[Légion d'honneur]], the attention of the [[French Academy of Sciences]] and promotion to [[lieutenant]]; and France gained a new, magnificent statue for the [[Louvre]] in Paris.<ref group="note">In fact, the recovery of the Venus de Milo was not the work of Dumont only. Moreover, the French ambassador to Constantinople had already received another report on the discovery of the statue sent by the commander of the ship ''Estafette'' in the [[roadstead]] of Milossome to the French [[Consul (representative)|consul]] to [[İzmir|Smyrna]].</ref>