Objects : 127
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Object / Directoire-Consulat-Ier Empire/Directory-Consulate-1st Empire“Dirge composed expressly for the Funeral of the Emperor Napoleon by Ch. McCarthy of the late St Helena Band, May 1821” – piano reductionIn a note in A St Helena Who’s Who (1919), Arnold Chaplin, a renowned specialist on the St Helena episode, recorded that a musical lieutenant of the 66th Regiment, Charles McCarthy, had composed a “dirge” for the Emperor’s funeral. Chaplin also reported that a score… -
ObjectThe Great French Imperial Coat of Arms, door hanging for the Emperor’s “grand cabinet” at the Palais des TuileriesThe “grand cabinet” of his “grand appartement de représentation” [great reception apartment] was, in Napoleon’s eyes, the most important room in the Tuileries Palace. It was here that he held the Council of Ministers and received the oaths of the dignitaries and great officers of… -
Object / Directoire-Consulat-Ier Empire/Directory-Consulate-1st EmpireA set of Chambellan KeysThe “Maison de l’Empereur” or “Emperor’s Household” was created after the proclamation of the Empire and was largely inspired by the “Maison du Roi” or King’s Household during the Ancien Régime. This institution went back a long time: sovereigns had always had an officer at… -
Object / Directory / 1st EmpireNapoleon’s Grey Greatcoat (redingote)The figure of Napoleon is inseparable from his famous bicorn, accompanied by his no less famous grey “redingote” (a large frockcoat commonly known as his “greatcoat”). They made him more easily recognisable in the midst of his his caparisoned staff, decked with trimmings and golden braids.… -
Object / Directoire-Consulat-Ier Empire/Directory-Consulate-1st EmpireNapoleon I’s Coronation SwordWhen Bonaparte became First Consul, head of state, he wanted a ceremonial weapon for grand state occasions, based on the example of the very lavish sword made in 1784 for Louis XVI. He specified that it should “be in keeping with the customs related to… -
ObjectWheat-ear tiaraThis tiara was made around 1811 by François-Regnault Nitot, son of Marie-Etienne Nitot, jeweller of the Empire and founder of the house that would become Chaumet. Not only is it a masterpiece of craftsmanship, it also carries a symbolic dimension dear to Josephine and Napoleon. -
ObjectMantle Clock at Longwood marking the hour of the Emperor’s deathMartin Pigneret: mantle clock, circa 1815. This clock brought back from St Helena by General Bertrand still marks the hour of the Emperor’s death. -
ObjectPair of scissors used to cut the Emperor’s hair after his death, and his razors and shaving brushAfter the Emperor died [at five forty-nine in the evening of 5 May], General Bertrand noted in his notebooks for 5 May 1821, “At ten in the evening Abbé Vignali said a few prayers, […] at half past eleven, the Emperor was shaved. Six hours… -
Object / St HelenaDeath Mask known as the “Bertrand Mask”At the insistance of Fanny Bertrand, who wanted to be able to remember the features of the Emperor and give them to his mother Madame Mère, the British physician Burton, having found gypsum on the island, was able to take a death mask of the Emperor in several sections, at 4pm on 7 May. He […]
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Object / St HelenaThe camp-bed in which Napoleon diedNapoleon took two of his favourite campbeds (created by Marie-Jean Desouches) with him into exile on St Helena. This one (known as the “lit Murat”, and given to the Musée de l’Armée in 1973) is that in which he died, at 5.49pm on 5 May 1821, in the drawing room* of Longwood House. The other St Helena campbed (now […]