Exhibited at the Salon of 1897, Gérôme's equestrian sculpture, Napoléon entrant au Caire, was originally conceived as a commemoration of Bonaparte's military victories in his Middle Eastern Campaigns, which took place almost a century earlier and culminated in his arrival in the Egyptian capital on 12 July 1898. Unusually, in that it normally only purchased unique works not to be reproduced, the original, brown-patinated bronze, eighty-three centimetres high, was acquired by the French government for the galerie du Luxembourg. In this case, Gérôme had already made a prior agreement with Siot-Decauville, who edited the bronze in two further sizes - the present size and one of fifty-three centimetres high.

As an ensemble to the equestrian group, Gérôme designed an elaborate mahogany and ormolu Egyptian temple on which the mounted Bonaparte was placed. Incorporating the figure of Victory and that of an Egyptian scribe, the 'temple' was inscribed with the names of the future Emperor's collaborators and was intended to symbolise the association between the greatness of the ancient civilisation and the power of Bonaparte.

Another cast of this model, together with the 'temple' pedestal was sold in the sale of the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Collection, Sotheby's New York, 26 May 1994, lot 37.