IMPORTANT STAR OF THE LEGION OF HONOR OF EMPEROR NAPOLEON I - Lot 70

Lot n° 70
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10000 - 15000 EUR
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Result : 42 000EUR
IMPORTANT STAR OF THE LEGION OF HONOR OF EMPEROR NAPOLEON I - Lot 70
IMPORTANT STAR OF THE LEGION OF HONOR OF EMPEROR NAPOLEON I FROM THE SHARING OF HIS SOUVENIRS. Gold eagle in reduction of the Legion of Honor, model of the end of the Empire or the Hundred Days (1815). Gold and enamel (chips and blows). Star with five double-bolted branches, with tassel and hinged easel with a crown with arches decorated with eagles and foliage. Obverse of the center in profile to the right with large head on radiant background and legend "NAPOLEON EMP. OF THE FRENCH ", Reverse side of the center with eagle head to the right on streaked background and legend " HONOR AND PATRY ", Smooth ring. Gross weight : 3,1 g. Dimensions 28 x 16 mm. B. In its case of the middle of the XIXth century covered with green morocco decorated with gold nets and on the lid with the inscription " THIS CROSS OF THE LEGION OF HONOR WHICH BELONGS TO EMPEROR NAPOLEON IS EXCHANGED IN SHARING TO HIS SISTER CAROLINE ". Closing by two hooks. Sheathed in silk and ivory velvet. (Lid detached). 6 x 7,5 cm. History : Concerning the insignia of the Legion of Honor we will cite the work of our colleague Jean Christophe Palthey, expert in phaleristics, on the fate reserved for the few orders of knighthood bequeathed by the Emperor Napoleon I to his son (which will be refused by the Austrian Empire) and transmitted at the death of the latter to his mother and then to his siblings still living: Lot n°2, the one given to Caroline Murat, sister of Emperor Napoleon I, included a "Small Cross of the Legion of Honor". It should be noted that the rank of the decoration is only mentioned when it is a knight's decoration for the Legion of Honor. The text of this bequest therefore corresponds perfectly to our decoration. By its shape, our decoration corresponds to the last productions of the Empire, and can be dated from the Hundred Days (1815). Indeed, the presence of tassels, the hinged mounting and the eagles present on the crown (which will be found under the Second Empire) are present on the collar of the Legion of Honor manufactured at the end of the Empire, work of the goldsmith Biennais. It is probably one of the decorations delivered by Biennais for the Emperor before his departure for the Belgian campaign on June 10, 1815. Related work : -Necklace of the Legion of Honor, Musée de l'Armée (Ca 04; Ka 7) -Binoche et Giquello sale, Hôtel Drouot, 20 November 2015, lot 122 (Expert J.C. Palthey) Exhibition : -Featured in the Napoleon Museum in Digne in 1932-1935
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