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About an hour into Ridley Scott’s epic film, the cinema screen is filled with the sumptuous Imperial Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine.
It is a revealing moment: a turning point in the history of France and the world and a projection of power and magnificence that the French still unabashedly admire today.
And shining in the film’s Coronation of Notre Dame, and in Jacques-Louis David’s famous painting of the 1804 spectacle that clearly inspired the filmmaker, are gems of rare opulence.
Women present in the film include Napoleon’s sisters and sisters-in-law and Josephine’s daughter, Hortense, from her previous marriage.
They are all adorned with spectacular jewels that sparkle and shine while, taking place in the gloom of December 2, the ceremony was by candlelight.
To create a new imperial dynasty, Napoleon created a set of imperial jewels. Here Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon crowns Vanessa Kirkby as Josephine in Ridley Scott’s interpretation.
David’s painting of Napoleon’s Coronation in the Louvre appears to have inspired the film version in its opulence. Amazing jewels shine in both scenes
When creating the “look” of his imperial jewels, Napoleon looked to ancient Greece, Rome and the classical past. Vanessa Kirkby plays Josephine
This is exactly the kind of scene Napoleon wanted.
When, in early 1804, it was decided that Bonaparte would be proclaimed Emperor of the French, he decided to establish a dynastic royal family. And for that he needed a set of real jewels.
Since Francis I, the French crown jewels, Les Joyaux de la Couronne, belonged to the French people (as the British crown jewels belong to us).
But in 1792, during the Revolution, they were stolen from where they were kept in the Garde Meuble in Paris. Many were later sold or destroyed, victims of a new republic without the need for splendor.
For example, the Régent, a sublime 140.64-carat diamond from Golconda that had been part of the royal collection since 1717, had been pawned in Berlin for £2.5 million.
Napoleon decided to recover it and set the diamond which became his Imperial Sword, used during the coronation.
Napoleon wanted his wife and court adorned with the finest jewelry for two reasons: primarily to reflect her status as First Consul and Lady, but also to revive the decadent jewelry industry for which Paris had become so famous until the 19th century. revolution of 1789.
It had developed at great speed.
Within a few years there were 400 jewelers employing 800 men and 2,000 women, creating designs from delicate pearl and diamond necklaces and earrings to bracelets and belts, all set with precious stones, many of which had been obtained during expeditions to Egypt. and Brazil.
It was the diadem or tiara that became the iconic French ornament and subsequently spread throughout Europe.
The discoveries of gold ornaments from Herculaneum and Pompeii in the late 18th century, and Napoleon’s early campaign in Egypt in 1798, where he encountered ancient artifacts and, as we see in the film, a mummified pharaoh (this scene is probably the Scott’s artistic license) led to the then General Bonaparte decides to emulate the ancient world.
Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the jewelry he encouraged Josephine to wear.
Jewelry from the collection of Napoleon and Josephine.
Empress Josephine Tiara. Napoleon single-handedly revived the fashion for tiaras among the European nobility
When designing his own crown, Napoleon looked closer to home for inspiration, looking to Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor who ruled large areas of Europe from Aachen.
The ear of wheat motif featured prominently in Josephine’s jewelry. It was a symbol of Ceres, the Roman goddess of prosperity, harvest and fertility.
In fact, as art and jewelry historian Diana Scarisbrick writes in her book chapter on the French jewelry house Chaumet: “Napoleon revived the tiara for Josephine, […] and the women of the family and the imperial court.
The designs were strictly classical, with classical motifs.
One of Empress Josephine’s favorites was the ear of wheat, a symbol of Ceres, the Roman goddess of prosperity, harvest and fertility.
(Josephine was desperate to give Napoleon an heir and, despite having two adult children from her first marriage, seemed unable to conceive a child.)
Josephine had several ‘Ear of Wheat’ tiaras, including this one created by Nitot.
Another important symbol that Napoleon was inspired to revive was the bay leaf, probably the most recognizable symbol from the time of the Roman emperors and Caesar.
It is a golden laurel wreath that Napoleon wore for his coronation, the theme of which is also in the design of the formidable diadem set with diamonds, worn by the Empress Josephine during the ceremony.
Napoleon’s famous crown was destroyed during the Restoration of the monarchy in 1814, but one of the forty-four large leaves, forty-two detachable berries and twelve smaller leaves was saved and sold at auction six years ago for more than £430,000.
Another neoclassical theme was the cameo, a style so loved by Napoleon that he had them set in many pieces of jewelry.
There are various ornaments comprising cameos made with hard stones of, among others, agate and malachite.
In 1808, 82 intaglios and cameos were removed from a state-owned collection and reincorporated by Nitot into a huge suite for the Empress Josephine, which included a tiara, necklace, belt and bracelets.
We also see cameos and intaglio tiaras worn by Napoleon’s sisters and sister-in-law, as well as Josephine’s daughter Hortense, in David’s painting, faithfully reproduced in the film. The Queen of Sweden owns a cameo created for the Empress Josephine by Nitot, who lent it to her daughter, later Queen of Holland.
When Napoleon officially became emperor in May 1804, he knew he needed a new crown and looked back to the past.
This time, however, it was not to the Romans but to medieval Europe that he sought inspiration and commissioned Nitot for what he called the “Crown of Charlemagne.”
It was made in gold with four full arches supporting a cross over a golden globe in the center, instead of gems it was set with cameos and carved carnelian (a hard reddish brown stone), the band had gold leaves around it. its circumference and a red velvet cap inside.
Pope Pius VII was persuaded to travel from the Vatican to anoint the imperial couple, but Napoleon treated the poor man despicably!
When the Crown was presented for the Pope to place on his head (Napoleon took it from the altar and placed it on his own head, then placed the same crown on the Empress’s head) it is believed that this act of ignoring the Pope was his way of declaring his contempt for the power of the Vatican and the clergy, and making himself omnipotent of his own empire.
(However, the film and painting show him crowning Josephine with his own crown, this time set with sparkling gemstones.)
Once Napoleon became Emperor, he began creating his titles and kingdoms for his family, who, of course, needed their own royal jewels to put a seal on their newfound seniority.
Many of these jewels now belong to the Royal Families of Europe and, in addition to Nitot, known since 1889 as Chaumet, Mellerio created many of Bonaparte’s jewels.
Napoleon ruled France and controlled much of Europe from 1804 until he was definitively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
In 1810, when Napoleon divorced Josephine, to marry a younger model who could give him an heir, she returned all the jewels that belonged to the crown and gave many to her daughter and her son’s wife, Eugene, a princess. from Bavaria. she who became Duchess of Leuchtenberg upon marriage.
Her daughter became Queen of Sweden, so many of Josephine’s jewelry now belong to Swedish royalty.
But, as we can see from the records of Mellerio, the oldest jeweler in the world who still has order books dating back to the Napoleonic era, Josephine continued to commission even more.
Old habits die hard.
Josie Goodbody is a jewelry writer and mystery novelist.