The bust of Hannibal owned by the University of Saskatchewan
The article by Radio Canada which appeared in late January 2015, which sparked off our little investigation, already gives valuable information about the object in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Antiquities:
– The bust dates from the seventeenth century;
– It was sold at auction in New York for about $70 in 1939;
– It was discovered in the collection of the museum in 1988, with no idea of how it got there.
– The curators on site were able to establish its possession by Napoleon thanks to references to bust found in a document written by Napoleon’s private secretary.
With this information in hand, we contacted Tracene Harvey, the chief curator of the museum, who was the source for this article. She was able to give us additional information.
“We found a reference to our Hannibal bronze bust in the memoires of the private secretary of Napoleon, the Baron Claude-François de Méneval. This passage from his memoirs mentions the presence of such a bust on top of the fireplace in [Napoleon Bonaparte’s] office at the Château de Saint-Cloud, Napoleon had a bronze bust of Hannibal, and a bust of Scipio the African. We are continuing our research but from what we know, our bronze bust is the only one that he can be referring to. The bust was executed by François Girardon, sculptor to Louis XIV, or by his protégé Sebastian Slodtz”.
Written references to the possession of such a bust by Napoleon I
Pending the publication of research by the curators of the Museum of Antiquities, we can already confirm Tracene Harvey’s claim of the existence of such a bust.
– Les mémoires pour servir à l’histoire de Napoléon Ier (“Memoirs supporting the History of Napoleon I”)*, written by Baron Meneval do indeed contain a passage describing the bust:
“His usual place was a couch covered with a green taffeta cover, placed near the fireplace decorated with two beautiful bronze busts representing Scipio and Hannibal.(Page 201, in the edition presented by Gallica)
– Moreover, a letter from Vivant Denon (available on napoleonica.org, using Internet Explorer) confirms the existence of such a bust. The Director General of the Central Museum of Arts directly addresses the first consul in 1803 to discuss the piece:
“I have collected various portraits that I will have installed in your apartments in Saint-Cloud, which I hope will be of your liking. I have included two bronze busts of Hannibal and Scipio which I brought back from Naples with which I hope you will allow me to pay you homage.”
Is the bust of the Canadian Museum the very one that was at Saint-Cloud in the office of the future emperor? When did it leave the palace – in 1814, in 1815 at the time of one of the abdications of Napoleon? Or just before the destruction of the castle of Saint-Cloud in 1870? We will keep you informed of further developments regarding this miraculous reappearance…