exhibit officially opened. The hull of the ship and many of the recovered artifacts, including colored glass beads, brass pots, a colander, a ladle, muskets, powder horns, an early explosive device called a fire pot and a bronze cannon with lifting handles shaped like dolphins, are on display at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in the state capital of Austin. Many more artifacts can be seen in the multi-location La Salle Odyssey exhibit, located in museums around Texas. The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History is the official repository of artifacts. The Museum of the Coastal Bend in Victoria, Texas also has many artifacts from the La Belle, mainly the other seven cannons from Fort St. Louis. Ownership After the excavation was completed, the French government filed an official claim for the ship and its contents. Under international naval laws, an official naval vessel is owned by the country for which the ship flies its flag. Despite a long-standing tradition repeated by American historians that La Belle was a personal gift from the King to La Salle, no documentary evidence confirming this claim could be produced. Instead, archival research conducted in French depositories provided two official documents which listed La Belle as being owned by the King but loaned to La Salle. Madeleine Albright conceded the claim in favor of France just before the end of the Clinton administration. After a several-year negotiation, an agreement was signed on March 31, 2003 which gives official title to the wreck and its artifacts to the Musée national de la Marine in Paris. Day-to-day control was granted to the Texas Historical Commission for 99 years. References Further reading French Ancre Publishing Compagny published a Monography with a full set of plans for this ship - scaled in 1/48 for model building. External links Texas Historical Commission La Salle Shipwreck Project Raising the Belle by Dan Parker Interview with Mark Mitchell, author of 'Raising La Belle' Artifacts from the La Belle Shipwreck Collection at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History Live stream of the build, Bullock Museum, La Belle, the ship that changed history exhibit 1995 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites in Texas French Texas Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico Maritime incidents in 1686 Matagorda County, Texas Age of Sail ships of France