Magenta was the lead ship of her class of two broadside ironclads built for the French Navy (Marine nationale) in the early 1860s.

[2] During their sea trials, sister ship Solférino[3] achieved a speed of 12.88 knots (23.85 km/h; 14.82 mph) from 4,012 metric horsepower (2,951 kW).

[1] The Magenta class carried enough coal to allow them to steam for 1,840 nautical miles (3,410 km; 2,120 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[1][3][6] The Magentas had a full-length waterline belt that consisted of wrought-iron plates 120 mm (4.7 in) thick.

[7][8] On 31 October 1875, an accidental nighttime galley fire started aboard Magenta while she was in port at the naval base at Toulon, France, and spread out of control.

At the time of the accident, Magenta had a cargo of Carthaginian antiques, notably 2080 Carthaginian tombstones known as the Pricot de Sainte-Marie steles (Tophet, 2nd century BC) and a marble statue of Vibia Sabina (Thasos, c. 127-128 AD), found in 1874 by the Pricot de Sainte-Marie mission.