French Patinated Bronze Death Mask of Napoleon Bonaparte

19th century, after the cast made by Dr. Francois Carlo Antommarchi (Corsican, 1780-1838) at the death of the Emperor in 1821, cast signature along proper right truncation, foundry inscription "Fondu par L. Richard Quesnel a Paris" along left truncation, seal reading "Napoleon Emp et Roi/Souscription Dr. Antommarchi 1833".
h. 13", w. 7-1/2", d. 6"

Notes: As the First Consul of the French Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte signed the Louisiana Purchase with President Thomas Jefferson, effectively doubling the size of the United States. After a succession of military defeats, Napoleon was first exiled to the island of Elba, and then to the remote island of St. Helena off the coast of Africa.

Former New Orleans mayor Nicholas Girod offered his residence in the French Quarter as a refuge during Napoleon's exile. Despite the fact that Napoleon did not make it to New Orleans, the mayor's residence was renamed the Napoleon House (now a restaurant.)

On May 6, 1821, the former French emperor passed away at 51 years old, surrounded on his deathbed by his doctors. Since it was customary at the time to make death masks for a person of importance, Bonaparte's physician, Dr. Francois Carlo Antommarchi, cast the original wax death mask of Napoleon's face.

Antommarchi used the wax death mask of Napoleon to reproduce bronze and plaster copies. In 1834, he traveled to New Orleans and presented a bronze copy of the mask to the city; which is on display in the Cabildo, part of the Louisiana State Museum.

Antommarchi sold his rights to Napoleon's death mask to L. Richard and E. Quesnel's foundry in Paris, which fabricated bronze copies.

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