Marshal Louis Alexandre BERTHIER, (1753-1815), - Lot 294

Lot n° 294
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Estimation :
2000 - 2500 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 19 500EUR
Marshal Louis Alexandre BERTHIER, (1753-1815), - Lot 294
Marshal Louis Alexandre BERTHIER, (1753-1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram. Dignitary scarf of the Order of the Iron Crown that belonged to Marshal Berthier. Orange moiré silk scarf, edged in green, ending in two serrated panels, topped with its bow. T.T.B. First Empire period. Length: 1.36 m. Width: 10.5 cm. Provenance : -Louis-Alexandre BERTHIER, marshal of the Empire, Prince of Wagram, then his descendants, -Acquired by Countess Viviane de WITT at the Sotheby's Paris sale: Une famille et Napoléon, collection du maréchal Berthier, prince de Wagram, 29/04/2014, lot 237. Related works: -A second cord from the same provenance (Paris, Sotheby's sale, 29/04/2014, n°236). History: In June 1805, Napoleon founded the Order of the Iron Crown in Milan, the equivalent of the Legion of Honor for the Kingdom of Italy. The order evokes the illustrious memory of the crown of the Lombard kings, reputed to have been forged with one of Christ's Passion nails. Our cord is of the second type. Indeed, the original cord was embroidered on the front with three antique crowns. However, the order's dignitaries demanded and obtained to wear a plaque with their cord, and lost their crowns in 1806. Long preserved by his descendants, the marshal's memorabilia has been dispersed since the 1960s. While some items, including decorations, have since joined public collections, a large part of this collection, including our cordon and another of the same type, was sold in Paris in 2014 and 2015. Biography: LE PRINCE LOUIS ALEXANDRE BERTHIER (1753-1815) Louis Alexandre Berthier (Versailles, 1753 - Bamberg, 1815). Geographical engineer and colonel from 1778. Napoleon Bonaparte's chief of staff, he took part in the Italian and Egyptian campaigns, becoming Minister of War under the Consulate until 1807, then Marshal of the Empire (1804) and Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin (1806). As major-general of the Grande Armée, Berthier took part in all the Empire's campaigns. Made Prince of Wagram and Colonel General of the Swiss (1809), Napoleon offered him the Chambord estate. Although he remained at the Emperor's side until the latter's abdication in 1814, he quickly rallied to Louis XVIII, who made him Peer of France. He died in Bamberg, defenestrated in circumstances that remain unclear. His death shortly before the Battle of Waterloo affected Napoleon, who said of him, "No one else can replace him". Of all Napoleon's marshals, Louis-Alexandre Berthier was one of the most honored by the Emperor, who also made him Grand Dignitary of the Iron Crown on February 22, 1806, as part of the second promotion. Temporary importation The buyer must pay import duties of 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the item is immediately re-exported outside the European Union. Work in temporary import The buyer will have to pay import fees of 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the buyer immediately re-exports the lot outside the European Union.
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