This is the last remaining gold laurel leaf from the wreath that Napoleon wore at his coronation in 1804. The leaves (and berries) - all fashioned by the court jeweler Martin-Guillaume Biennais in naturalistic style - were later melted down by Louis XVIII during the Restoration. This leaf survived because Napoleon gave it to the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey, who later had it mounted in this box with an accompanying note about how he came to have it:
"At Saint-Cloud in 1805, before the departure for Milan, I was helping the emperor as he tried on the royal crown which was supposed to go above the golden laurel wreath made for the coronation in Notre-Dame. One of the leaves fell off. Just as I was about to give it to the head chamberlain, His Majesty said to me: 'Keep it; it will make a good souvenir of your clumsiness.'"
It is worth listening to the short audioguide for this piece.
Quotation via Napoleon.org
2 comments:
So much prettier in person. Very petite and beautiful, understates but simply gorgeous. The picture is nice but we have a million times better antique jewelry .
If you don't mind please have a look to my jewelry collection! hope you like it too!
Diamond Jewellery Store In Delhi in 2016 with the latest jewellery design from the our online jewellery store.
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