Objects : 132
-
ObjectCross of the Order of the Jerome Bonaparte Crown of Westphalia
Following the Treaty of Tilsit, Napoleon created the Kingdom of Westphalia for his youngest brother, Jerome Bonaparte. The kingdom was made up of a number of German territories, with Kassel becoming the capital for the newly-created state. Jerome became Jerome Napoleon and was proclaimed king on 7 July 1807, eventually arriving in the capital on […]
-
ObjectAn Egyptian tea-service
Part of an Egyptian tea service, composed of a teapot and nine teacups and saucers in the “Denon-Etruscan form”, all in a beautiful deep blue, decorated with gold hieroglyphics and vignettes representing various sights in Egypt. On 7 January 1810, just three weeks after his divorce, Napoleon wrote to Josephine from his Palais des Tuileries: “I […]
-
ObjectThe ‘surtout de table’ garniture for the hundred-piece table service: "France distributing wreaths of glory"
This garniture for the hundred-piece table service, today exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the gallery dedicated to the Universal Exhibitions, is a fine example of the virtuosity of Second Empire industrial art. The Prince President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte commissioned the garniture from the celebrated jewellers Christofle in 1852, and it was to be […]
-
Object‘Etruscan carafe’ vase: Baptism of the Roi de Rome
Full title: ‘Etruscan carafe’ vase, fine blue ground, roundel representing the Roi de Rome baptism medal painted in the cameo style. This vase was painted in 1812, and the Emperor gave it as a new year’s gift in 1813 to Comtesse de Noailles, who had been appointed Lady in waiting to the Empress Marie-Louise the […]
-
ObjectMarie-Louise’s Ball Gown and Train
This ball gown and matching train which once belonged to Marie-Louise is without doubt one of the most remarkable pieces owned by the Museo Glauco Lombardi. Lombardi, a collector of Napoleonic and resident of the Italian city of Parma, bought the gala outfit from Giovanni Sanvitale in 1934, himself a descendant of Marie-Louise; Giovanni was the […]
-
ObjectMarie-Louise’s travelling medicine chest
Marie-Louise's travelling medicine chest is one of the most unusual objects in the Museo Glauco Lombardi collection. It was acquired in 1948 and notes from Glauco Lombardi himself give precious details concerning the provenance. The medicine chest was bought by Giuseppe Pandos at the sale of objects belonging to the ex-empress held in Parma in […]
-
ObjectEmpress Eugenie’s crown
The ‘Diamonds of the Crown of France’, an inalienable treasure embodying the power of the monarchy, survived throughout French history from the creation of the institution in 1530 by François I up to the Second Empire. And Napoleon III was to make his own use of this fabulous treasure, just as all French monarchs had […]
-
ObjectThe so-called "la Païva" bed
This bed, recently put up for auction in Paris, embodies the life of the French courtisane in the second half of the 19th century. On 30 October, 1946, the expert Maurice Rheims had decribed the bed, which formed part of the furniture for a town mansion, as “designed for a very particular use”: the Marthe […]
-
ObjectVase with portrait of Queen Hortense
Clearly modelled on the form of an antique amphora, this elegant vase reveals a wealth of different decorative forms and techniques. The gilt neck and foot, decorated with vegetation motifs in burnished gold, are in stark contrast to the belly of the base with its medallion portrait of Queen Hortense to the front and her […]
-
ObjectCommemorative 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 […]