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Premium Karl Benz

237 - HABIT DE GARDE D'HONNEUR A PIED DE LA VILLE DE NANTES, 1808,…
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Estimate €3,000 - €5,000
Sale commission
Description
HABIT DE GARDE D'HONNEUR A PIED DE LA VILLE DE NANTES, 1808, First Empire. Identical in cut to the infantry of the line in white woollen cloth, with collar, lapels and facings in velvet amarantes piped in white. The lower part of the lapels is cut straight, the upper parts are three-pointed and entirely piped in white, each bordered with seven small uniform buttons, diameter 16.65 mm, in gilded brass, stamped with the imperial eagle and bearing the legend "Garde d'Honneur". The right-hand side of the lapels has five hooks on the lapel and three on the collar, while the left-hand side has rings for the hooks. Three-button front placket with white piping. Back pockets with amaranth piping forming three points, each trimmed with a 20mm large-module uniform button. Basques with lapels in white amaranth piping, a crowned "N" in sequins and cannetille serving here as an ornament to the lapels, and not a gilded eagle as in the regulation. France, First Empire period. Condition report: average condition, moth holes and missing parts throughout, mainly on the lining. One button missing. Provenance: Manoir du Vally, Guingamp. Historical note: Once it had left Napoleon-Vendée, the imperial convoy ( ) arrived at Remouillé, the boundary between the Vendée and Loire-Inférieure departments, where the prefect Antoine Philippe Fiacre Ghislain de Visscher comte de Celles, awaited the sovereigns accompanied by sixteen cavalrymen from the Guard of Honour organised by the city of Nantes to arrive at 3am on 9 August 1808. The city, which had been bled dry by the Vendée civil war, had been pleased to see Bonaparte bring peace to the region. Surrounded by a large crowd, Mayor Bertrand Geslin presented the Emperor with the keys to the town. The imperial couple arrived at the prefecture to great cheers, and the Nantes Guard of Honour was probably the best organised of all those present for the 1808 trip. On 23 May, the prefect sent a summons to young people to go to the town hall to sign up for the Guard of Honour he wanted to organise for the town. By 1 June, some 210 Guards had signed up. There were 261 volunteers in all, making it possible to organise two companies of Guards on foot and a band. On 28 July, the Guards received their standards. On Thursday 11 August 1808, the couple left Nantes escorted by the city's mounted Guards of Honour. The Gardes d'Honneur as seen by two artists, Henry Boisselier, Paul Meganck and Vincent Bourgeot. Passage through Nantes of H.M. Emperor Napoleon 1st, by J-C. Renoul.
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About the sale FLORILEGE 2026
Auction location
Auction time 06/27/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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