Objects : 132
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ObjectThe furniture in the Salon doré at the Château de Malmaison
The reception salon at Malmaison, the Salon de compagnie, was not always as it appears today. It was transformed several times, the first taking place during the First Empire. In 1800, an initial set of furniture was ordered from the Jacob brothers, cabinet makers. That suite of furniture comprised two sofas, two bergères (small upholstered […]
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ObjectPortrait of Napoleon (miniature set on a box)
As early as the end of the 18th century, Jean-Baptiste Isabey was celebrated as one of the greatest French miniaturists ever. At that time, the miniature genre was at its apogee in terms of popularity, a popularity supported by the Revolutionary wars and later the campaigns of Napoleon, since each soldier wanted to take with […]
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ObjectNapoleon’s camp bed
When he was on campaign, Napoleon's bivouac furniture had to be exceedingly practical, easy to set up and put away, easy to carry, and not too bulky. All the pieces of furniture provided for Napoleon by the imperial wardrobe matched every single one of these criteria: tent, chairs, stools, tables, everything could be folded away, […]
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ObjectBonaparte, First Consul, distributing honour sabres to the grenadiers of his guard after the Battle of Marengo, 14 June, 1800
After difficult years during the Revolutionary period, from 1805 the Gobelins manufactory benefitted from commissions from Napoleon destined for the decoration of the Imperial residences or as diplomatic gifts. Not concerned with being original, the weavers turned for their models to the great artists in the pay of the regime, choosing to copy the paintings […]
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ObjectNapoleon I as legislator
Eugène Guillaume, author of this life-size statue, was an official artist during the Second Empire whose claim to fame was his mastery of Neoclassicism. He was trained by Jean-Jacques dit James Pradier (1790-1852, Grand Prix de Rome in 1813) who himself had found fame with his sculptures inspired by antiquity – including notably the “Victories” […]
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ObjectBlue damask with a yellow border and a shield motif decoration
The Consulate and the Empire were period of renaissance for the Lyons silk industry, specifically as a result of the refurnishing of the imperial residences. The first commission was for the palace at Saint-Cloud in 1802, the later ones were spread out over the period from 1804 – 1813 for the Tuileries, Fontainebleau, Versailles, Meudon […]
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Object‘Nécessaire’ belonging to the Duchesse d’Otrante
This ‘nécessaire’ was a gift from Joseph Fouché, Duc d’Otrante (1759-1820), to his future wife, Ernestine de Castellane (1788-1850), a few days before their marriage on 1 August, 1815. And it was to the official goldsmith to the Imperial Court that Fouché turned, namely Martin-Guillaume Biennais, when commissioning this sumptuous wedding present. Marquetry specialist, cabinet […]
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ObjectComplete works of Monsieur Arnault (3 volumes bearing Napoleon’s great coat of arms, published in The Hague by J.-B. Wallezz)
A handwritten note on the first page of volume one reads as follows: “This copy once formed part of Napoleon's library in exile; I took it from my own library to send it to him when Doctor Antommarchi was preparing to set out for St Helena; it was returned to me by the Count de […]
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ObjectNapoleon’s travel nécessaire
Brass plate bearing the inscription: “Please take this, I used it on the very morning of the Battle of Austerlitz. Words of NAPOLEON to Comte de LAS CASES when he gave him this small campaign nécessaire at THE BRIARS (the island of Saint Helena in October 1815)” Smaller than the ‘large nécessaires’ in vermeil or […]
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ObjectCabinet
This remarkable piece of furniture has been identified as a result of the double sale made to the Crown furniture store (Garde-Meuble de la Couronne) by the cabinet-maker Levasseur, firstly in 1823, and latterly in 1826. Here the vendor noted that this cabinet and matching bureau had been « made fifteen years earlier for the […]