Commemorative medal for the baptism of the Prince Impérial

All the great events of the First and Second Empires were seized upon as occasions for the production of commemorative medals, whether in gold, silver, bronze or even brass, the expense of the material being directly related to the rank of the recipient. The medals struck for the baptism of the Prince Impérial took as their model those made for the baptism of the Roi de Rome. On the first medal produced, Jean-Pierre Montagny engraved an allegory of Faith standing behind a font upon which were set an incense boat and the pyx containing the holy chrysm, and against which was leaning a bible. The obverse of the medal bore the profile of « Napoleon-Eugène-Louis-Jean-Joseph, born in Paris on 16 March, 1856 » and on the reverse bearing the allegory stands an inscription recording that Pope Pius IX (represented by cardinal Patrizi, Vicaire Général) was the godfather and that the Queen of Sweden (represented by Princess Stéphanie Louise Napoléone) was the godmother.

The second medal produced, made by Augustin Armand Caqué, shows the elevation of the child by the Emperor. Unlike the medal produced by Andrieu during the First Empire, where the child and Emperor are shown alone and in profile, here the father and son are shown face-on and accompanied the Empress Eugénie. On the reverse, the names of the 85 principal departmental towns (the chefs-lieux) are inscribed within a burst of sun rays.

A third medal, that shown here, was also produced. Commissioned from Caqué, it was heavily influenced by the medal produced for the birth of the Roi de Rome. Indeed, it was the representation of the latter (a charmingly jowly baby!), produced by Andrieu and Vivant Denon after sketches by Prud'hon, which was engraved here on the reverse, with the date of the ceremony “14 juin 1856” added. The obverse bears a double portrait of Napoleon III and Eugénie turned to the left, in contradistinction to the First Empire model where Napoleon and Marie-Louise were turned to the right. The medal shown here was made deliberately small so that many could be produced and distributed exceedingly widely in commemoration of the event. The records for the Sainte-Eugénie Hospital reveal for example that on 18 July, 1856, 158 medals were handed out to the children at the hospital who had “distinguished themselves for their assiduousness and good behaviour. The medal will be not only a commemoration of the baptism of the Prince Impérial but also a stimulus for emulation.”
 
Karine Huguenaud (tr. P.H.)
 
June 2006