Category Archive 'Napoleon'

21 Jun 2021

Napoleon’s Campaign Drinking Glass

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Sat, Jun 19, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Alex Cooper Auctions
Lot 1500 Details
DESCRIPTION
Circa 1800-1810; cut and faceted crystal cup by Montcenis, with etched Napoleonic cypher, 3 3/4 in. H., 3 in. Diam. with brown fitted kid leather cylindrical case with gilt bees and cypher on lid, having green velvet interior, 4 1/4 in. H., 3 3/4 in. Diam. Consignor states was purchased by General John M. Schweizer Jr. USAAF, in German antique store in 1953, and authenticated by the Louvre in 1956. Goblet is same as example on Napoleon.org website with slight size difference. Leather case is same as one displayed at Fondation Napoleon in October of 2018 and gobelet is very similar.

Sold for $3520 (with 28% Buyer Premium).

I did not win.

01 May 2021

Napoleon’s Desk From St. Helena

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M.S. Rau Antiques has quite a historical object for sale:

“This exceptional Regency desk was specially crafted for one of the most legendary men in Western history, Napoléon Bonaparte. Commissioned by the British government for Napoléon’s personal use during his exile on the island of St. Helena, the exceptionally rare relic was crafted by George Bullock, one of the most important British cabinetmakers of the 19th century. Absolutely extraordinary in both provenance and craftsmanship, a piece of furniture of this incredible importance is rarely seen on the market.

When Napoléon was exiled to St. Helena in 1815, an order was issued by King George IV (then the Prince Regent) that the former Emperor “should be furnished in his banishment with every possible gratification and comfort.” It was thus that the renowned George Bullock was commissioned to create a group of furniture that was relatively unadorned, yet befitting Napoléon’s former status. This stately, masterfully crafted desk was among them and resided in Napoléon’s own bedroom during his six years on the remote island. He spent much of his remaining time writing his memoirs, many of which would have been penned on this very desk. Told in his own words, the story of his life became the single best-selling book of the 19th century.

One of the most recognizable names in the world, Napoléon’s rapid rise to power and equally swift downfall continues to fascinate almost 200 years after his death. Rising to prominence during the French Revolution, it was his genius as both a tactician and a statesman that won him the crown of Emperor of the French. Yet, his eventual defeat at the hands of the Coalition Forces – Great Britain, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Prussia, Austria, Sweden, and the German States – leading to his banishment on the remote island of St. Helena. One of France’s most legendary figures, mementos belonging to the famed Emperor are highly coveted. This exceptional desk, crafted by one of the greatest names in British furniture for one of the greatest leaders of the modern age, is particularly extraordinary.

George Bullock began his career as a modeler and sculpture artist in Liverpool before moving to London in 1812. It is unclear what prompted his move into furniture design, though it seems to have been a natural transition considering his prowess for line and form. The superior quality of his work soon made him very successful and sought after for special commissions, the most prestigious of which was supplying furniture for the exiled Emperor Napoléon on St. Helena.

A plaque on the desk’s front reads: “This console table / was used for the toilet of / the Emperor Napoleon / in his bedroom at St. Helena during his exile / rr … (f) … Count de las Casas’ plan of Longwood House”

Circa 1815

32″ high x 54″ wide x 19 1/2″ deep

Provenance:
Supplied in 1815 for use on St. Helena by Napoléon in Longwood House
Recorded by Comte de Montholon in the inventory taken following Napoléon’s death in 1821
Sir Hudson Lowe, 1821
John Copling, 1844
Private collection, 1867
Anonymous sale, Christie’s London, July 1989
Private collection, United Kingdom
Anonymous sale, Christie’s London, November 2003
M.S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans
Private collection, Texas
M.S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans

Exhibited:
London: World City 1800-1840, Villa Hügel, Essen, June -November 1992

Literature:
London: World City 1800-1840, Exhibition Catalogue, 1992, by C. Fox, pp. 410-411
“Napoleon and George Bullock” in Furniture History, 1998, by M. Levy, p. 21 and p. 91″

“Price on request” meaning: “You can’t afford it!”

04 Oct 2020

New California Law Requires Separate Restrooms For People Who Think They Are Napoleon

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Babylon Bee:

SACRAMENTO, CA—A new California law requires businesses to provide separate restrooms for people who think they are Napoleon Bonaparte.

“Not providing a separate restroom for individuals who believe they are actually the 19th-century French emperor is hateful and wrong,” said Governor Gavin Newsom as he signed the bill into law Wednesday, flanked by several people dressed as Napoleon Bonaparte. “We will no longer allow these individuals to be discriminated against.”

The restrooms will have doorways that are just over 5’7″ tall. 19th-century French classical music will be playing. When the person finishes using the restroom, a victorious military parade will be thrown in their honor as they march out of the restroom and back into the business.

“We must affirm these people’s beliefs that they are actually Napoleon,” said Newsom. “To do anything but reinforce the delusion they’ve built up around themselves is a hate crime.”

RTWT

16 Mar 2019

Napoleon’s Pocket Pistol

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Napoleon’s three-barreled pocket pistol, with trophy references to the Battle of Marengo, 14 June 1800, by the renowned London gun-maker Durs Egg.

26 Nov 2013

Not Fond of the Emperor

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Also in the December Maine Antiques Digest Letter from London, sold at the 18-19 September last Sale 1186, the Collection of architect and scholar Professor Sir Albert Richardson, P.R.A., a patriotic Georgian Pearlware chamberpot, painted on the exterior with a band of ochre leaves within brown trailing circular branches and bands, and featuring within a bust of Napoleon accompanied by the motto: PEREAT. Let Him Perish!

The item, Lot 271, estimated to bring £400 – £600 ($610 – $900), actually fetched a whopping price of £6,250 ($10,081), despite a (repaired) crack across, a chip, and more than one riveted repair.

12 Jan 2012

Was Napoleon Bonaparte Jewish, or Even Descended from the Moors?

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Antoine-Jean Gros, Bonaparte sur le pont d’Arcole, c. 1801, Château de Versailles

It has become possible recently to identify Napoleon’s dna from samples taken from male descendants of his brothers. Napoleon’s dna is unusual and distinctive, and –interestingly– turns out to be an example of Haplogroup E1b1b1c1, a group of Levantine origin, which suggest that Napoleon Bonaparte’s ultimate male descent was from ancient Phoenecian traders, or Sephardic Jews, or possibly even from the Moors, which did not keep him having blond hair as young man (which later darkened) and grey-blue eyes.

The flag of Corsica features a Moor’s Head, referring to the island’s medieval invasion by the Saracens.

If your Y-dna is from Haplogroup E1b1b1c1, you will want to drop by the Napoleon DNA Project to compare your own results.

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In “True Romance” (1993), written by Quentin Tarrantino, Dennis Hopper gallantly foils the Mafiosi determined to extract information about his son’s whereabouts by torture by insulting his Sicilian captors over their Moorish descent.

10 Jun 2007

Napoleon I’s Marengo Sword Auctioned

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The press is reporting (a bit late) that the best surviving sword owned by Napoleon Bonaparte still in private hands was to be auctioned yesterday at Versailles by Osenat.

The sword is a Mameluke-style saber, a form of edged-weapon which became fashionable in France and Britain after Napoleon’s Campaign in Egypt in 1798.

The future Emperor, then First Consul, reputedly used this sword at the Battle of Marengo, June 14, 1800.

Napoleon presented the sword after the battle to one of his brothers as a wedding present. It has descended in the same family for eight generations.

BBC

Fox News

1:42 video


Louis-François (baron) Lejeune, Battle of Marengo, 1801
Musée National du Château, Versailles, oil on canvas
1.8 m. x 2.5 m.

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Doubtless stung by NYM’s criticism for slow reporting, Fox News has stepped up with the results of the auction. The sword sold for $6.4 million.

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Hat tip to Frank. A. Dobbs.


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