Objects

This bronze – also known as “Le réveil de Napoléon” (Napoleon awakes) – is by the sculptor François Rude and was commissioned in early 1840 by Claude Noisot, a former grenadier-à-pied and captain of the Old Guard. This military man was a faithful devotee of the Emperor, and had participated in the campaigns in Austria […]

The majority of glassware for the Maison de l’Empereur or Imperial Household came from the Montcenis crystal manufacturer. The Montcenis firm, established in 1787, had been the official crystal manufacturers to the monarch during the Ancien Régime, and they would play a significant role in the development of the French glass- and crystalware industry. So […]

After Napoleon’s death on 5 May 1821, a secular cult began to grow around him, propagated by the testimonies of the men and women who had accompanied him to St Helena. At the same time iconography in which Napoleon was compared to the mythological Prometheus became popular. The Napoleonic cult peaked at the time of […]

In 1819, the anatomist, Francesco Antommarchi (1789-1838), was sent to St Helena as a doctor. He assisted the British physician Burton, who having found gypsum on the island, was able to take a death mask of the Emperor in several sections. Bertrand and Antommarchi took the central part (eyes, nose, mouth). This original mask, almost […]

These eight pages of writing, covered in the impatient scribbles of a man determined to learn the language of his captors, are some of the most evocative documents we have from Napoleon’s time on Saint Helena. His arrival on the British outpost in October 1815 heralded an exile that was not only geographic, but also […]

Waistcoat Technique: “Piqué” Dimensions: 62 cm long, 114 cm around the chest Trousers Technique: Casimire, a thin cotton or linen twill Dimensions: 79 cm long, 110 cm around the waist These trousers, called a culotte de casimir in French, are made of casimire, a thin cotton or linen twill, and are absolutely typical of the […]

Signed Le Page à Paris – Arquebusier de l’Empereur Engraved inscription “Ile d’Aix le 15 juillet à 8 heures du soir, 1815” Inv. 1111 , donation Lapeyre This large hunting gun was presented by Napoléon to Captain Besson on 14 July 1815 as a final gift of thanks for having organised an escape attempt to America. […]

This plaster bust is one of a series of portraits produced by Canova between 1802 and 1822, each with varying degrees of success. More generally, the bust is also part of a wider collection of inter-connected works, the establishment of the provenance of which however remains to a certain extent inconclusive. These works are still […]

On 18 May 1808, Napoleon I was named knight of the Order of the Elephant by King Frederik VI of Denmark. Announced shortly after the Treaty of Fontainebleau had been concluded (31 October 1807), this act sealed the alliance between France and Denmark. It was also the first nomination made by the new king upon […]

Effigies of Napoleon became more common after the successes of his first Italian campaign. The meeting between the sculptor Charles-Louis Corbet and the young general can be dated with certainty to sometime between 5 December, 1797 – the day Bonaparte returned to Paris – and 4 May, 1798 – the day he left for Egypt. This […]