London ( CNN ) -- A violin played by the Titanic 's bandleader as the ship sank sold at auction Saturday for more than $ 1.7 million , a UK-based auction house said . The price -- 1.1 million British pounds , when adding the buyer 's premium and tax -- is by far the highest ever fetched for memorabilia tied to the sunken passenger ship , according to veteran collector Craig Sopin . `` This figure is going to be hard to beat , '' said Sopin , who helped authenticate the fact the violin came from the Titanic . `` I ca n't think of anything else that is more iconic to come off that ship . '' According to survivors , Wallace Hartley 's band played to calm passengers even as the ship sank beneath them . The scene was depicted in James Cameron 's blockbuster movie `` Titanic , '' which depicted Hartley and his band playing `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' as the ship took on water . Hartley 's body was reportedly pulled from the water days after the April 1912 sinking with his violin case still strapped to his back . In 2006 , the damaged violin was found in the attic of a home in Britain . It was authenticated through testing of salt water deposits , according to a statement released by Henry Aldridge and Son , which hosted the auction in Wiltshire , England . The violin was adorned with an engraved silver plate that connected it to Hartley . Aussie tycoon insists Titanic II good idea . The names of the seller and the buyer have not been released . The famous wreckage was first discovered in 1985 off the coast of Halifax , Nova Scotia . Since then there have been a number of research and recovery expeditions , during which time the artifacts included in the sale were found . Interest in the shipwreck peaked again after the release of the movie `` Titanic '' in 1997 . The film grossed $ 1.8 billion worldwide , making it the second highest grossing film in history , according to Box Office Mojo , a site that tracks ticket sales . Over the years , exhibitions of Titanic artifacts have made millions , and auctions have drawn high-priced sales . End of an era for tourist trips to ghostly wreck of Titanic . In 2004 , Guernsey 's auctioned off memorabilia from the Titanic and a few artifacts that had been passed down through the families of survivors . An original menu sold for about $ 100,000 , the president of the auction house said at the time . Sopin , a Philadelphia lawyer who has between 300 or 400 Titanic artifacts , said the ocean liner 's sinking is `` in a class all its own '' when it comes to disasters , due to its unique mix of historical , cultural and cinematic elements . `` The ship is a microcosm of society , '' he said , noting the different classes of people aboard the ship that fateful night . And it had both villains and heroes -- Hartley and his fellow band members , none of whom survived , chief among the latter group . `` What they were doing was actually causing a sense of calm on that ship , '' Sopin said . `` You could only wonder the mass pandemonium that would have occurred otherwise . It helped save a lot of lives . '' What happens to goods lost at sea ? CNN 's Per Nyberg reported from London ; Chelsea J. Carter from Atlanta . CNN 's Greg Botelho contributed to this report .
NEW : `` I ca n't think of anything else more iconic '' off Titanic , collector says . A violin played the Guernsey 's bandleader was auctioned in the Atlanta . It fetched about $ 1.7 million , 1.1 million British pounds , at auction , officials say . The violin is believed to have been played by Son as the ship sank .