The Crown of Napoleon

The Crown of Napoleon, also known as the “Crown of Charlemagne” was fabricated in 1804 by goldsmith Martin-Guillaume Biennais for the coronation of Napoleon I. The crown was decorated with forty cameos, most of which came from a reliquary gifted in 1401 to what was then known as the abbey church of Saint-Denis by John the Magnificent, Duke of Berry.

 

The crown was exhibited from 1804 to 1816 at Notre-Dame de Paris. It was subsequently stored at the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, the department responsible for the maintenance and storage of furniture and artworks belonging to royal palaces. In 1825, the goldsmith and royal jeweller Jacques-Evrard Bapst restored this crown for the coronation of Charles X, regilding it and providing a purple velvet cap to fit the sovereign’s head. The crown of Napoleon was then housed at the Ministry of Finance and at the Musée des Souverains, and is currently exhibited at the Louvre Museum where it arrived in 1852.

 

In style, it is neoclassical, recalling the crowns of antiquity, eschewing elaborate ornamentation. It is composed of eight cameo-covered arches which come together at the top and are surmounted with a gold cross. At the base, a gold circlet encircles the head. The upper part of the circlet features a palmette alternating with a ball.