Exhibition labels & didactics - National Gallery of Victoria

FRANCE
Acrostic bracelet belonging to
Letitia Ramolino Bonaparte
1804–10
gold, precious stones
Museo Napoleonico, Rome Inv. MN 146
This bracelet belonged to Napoleon’s
mother, Madame Mère, whose portrait by
Baron François Gérard is displayed nearby.
An acrostic puzzle, it spells out her name
Letitia using the first letters of its coloured
gemstones: Lapis lazuli, Emerald, Turquoise,
Idocrasio, Tourmaline, Ialino, Amethyst.
FRANCE
Empress Josephine’s shell cameo diadem,
presented to her by her brother-in-law
Joachim Murat
Diadème en camée coquille de l’impératrice
Joséphine, offert par son beau-frère
Joachim Murat
Empire period 1804–15
gold, shell, mother-of-pearl, cameos, pearls, precious and
semi-precious stones
Musée Masséna, Nice inv. CHAP.1360
After Napoleon’s coronation as Emperor in
1804, a new style of jewellery was devised
to express the character of the Imperial
regime. As in Greek and Roman jewellery,
intaglios and cameos depicting figures from
mythology and history played an important
role, emphasising Napoleon’s place in history
as the successor of Alexander and Augustus.
177
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