Baccarat - crystal-ceramic with the profile of Napoleon in general - Brouwet collection - Empire, circa 1810

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Crystal-ceramic with the profile of Napoleon
Crystal and cameo
Dimensions: D. 8.5 (cm.)
Baccarat, circa 1810

Very beautiful and early crystal-ceramic by the Baccarat Manufacture, Empire period. The crystal, molded, decorated with fans, rosettes and pearls. The diamond guilloché background. We are offering for sale several of these pieces, witnesses of the know-how of French crystal makers at the beginning of the 19th century and coming from the former collection of Emile Brouwet.

Emile Brouwet, collector of Napoleonic souvenirs
Belgian by birth, he is one of the administrators of Malmaison. Thanks to his personal fortune, he formed the largest collection of autographs ever assembled from the Napoleonic period, which he supplemented with historical objects and souvenirs from the Empire. The majority of his collection was dispersed during three sales in 1934 and 1935 at the Hôtel Drouot, and after some setbacks with the National Archives of France, a fourth sale was organized in 1937 in London.

A large part of his objects were exhibited at the Musée Napoléon de Digne; It was in this city, symbol of the “flight of the Eagle” during the Hundred Days, that the collector created a museum where objects evoking memories of Napoleon and the imperial family were shown to the public. Inaugurated in July 1932, the Digne Museum closed its doors in 1939. Although the majority of the collection remained in the Brouwet family, a few objects were deposited at the same time at the Army Museum in Brussels where they still seem to be preserved today. .

The origin of crystal ceramics at the beginning of the 19th century
The rapid development of crystal factories (Saint-Louis, Montcenis or Baccarat) is made possible on the one hand thanks to a favorable economic context and on the other hand, by a supply of excellent quality raw crystal as evidenced by certain exchanges with the Vonêche factory.
In the space of two decades, production capacities became absolutely considerable: the objects produced were even more diversified.
Furthermore, the -European- fashion of neoclassicism is visible by the mass distribution of copies of antique cameos, these are initially presented framed, and are very popular.
We then owe to Saint Amand the first attempts to include biscuit cameos in a crystal. This know-how is twofold, since it involves mastering the sculpture on the cameos, but also mastering the composition of the biscuit doughs and their cooking. It takes about ten years to produce conclusive documents. They mainly bear the image of influential contemporary people: the Emperor, his wife, Louis XVIII, the Count of Artois, the Duke of Berry, his wife or even the Duchess of Angoulême.

Condition report: very slight chips

Ref: S42QMZ83WP