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Lot Essay
The enamel miniature to the front of the present watch is a representation of the oil painting entitled Bataille d'Iéna gagnée par l'Empéreur Napoléon, 14 octobre 1806, 1836, by Horace Vernet (1789-1836). It shows Napoleon inspecting the old Guard before the battle of Jena. One of the soldiers is lifting his hat and shouts "Vive l'Empereur"! The victory over Prince of Hohenlohe's Prussians in Thuringen on 14 October 1806 opened Napoleon the route to Berlin.
The enamel miniature on the reverse represents the oil painting entitled "Napoleon the First meditating at the tomb of Frederic II of Prussia in the crypt of the Garnisonkirche of Potsdam, 25 October 1806", 1808, by Marie Nicolas Ponce-Camus (1778-1839). In October 1806, shortly after his occupation of Berlin, Napoleon visited the tomb of Friedrich Wilhelm II, or Frederic the Great, in the Garnisonkirche in Potsdam and purportedly said to his men "Hats off, Gentleman. If he were still alive, we would not be here".
Both paintings are in the collection of the Musée National du Château de Versailles et de Trianon.
The enamel miniature on the reverse represents the oil painting entitled "Napoleon the First meditating at the tomb of Frederic II of Prussia in the crypt of the Garnisonkirche of Potsdam, 25 October 1806", 1808, by Marie Nicolas Ponce-Camus (1778-1839). In October 1806, shortly after his occupation of Berlin, Napoleon visited the tomb of Friedrich Wilhelm II, or Frederic the Great, in the Garnisonkirche in Potsdam and purportedly said to his men "Hats off, Gentleman. If he were still alive, we would not be here".
Both paintings are in the collection of the Musée National du Château de Versailles et de Trianon.