PARIS, FRANCE.- The Louvre Museum presents “Napoleon’s Goldsmith - Martin-Guillaume Biennais,” on view through January 19, 2004. Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843), a modest craftsman, attracted the attention of General Bonaparte and, in doing so, ensured his future success. When Napoleon became emperor, Biennais was appointed First Goldsmith and commissioned to make court dinner services and numerous objects. This exhibition recalls the diversity of Biennais’ production, which is particularly well-represented at the Louvre, and will be an opportunity to admire the ceremonial and personal objects used by Napoleon I and those close to him.

Among the objects now in the Louvre are the regalia, known as “Charlemagne’s honours” which Napoleon wanted to have near him at his coronation on 2 December 1804. He also commissioned several services for the imperial table from Biennais, although very few of these have survived. For this reason, the bringing together of the tea service made in celebration of Napoleon’s marriage to the Archduchess Marie-Louise, in 1810, and now shared by the Louvre and the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, is exceptional. Small pieces of furniture, toilet cases containing dozens of articles, the former tablet-maker’s speciality, designs drawn by the architect Charles Percier, items for desks, and weapons complete this evocation of the workshop of the First Goldsmith to the Emperor.

The majority of the exhibits on view come the collections of the Louvre, were made during the Empire for Napoleon and his family, as well as for Josephine and the Beauharnais family. Some objects have been loaned by other museums and collectors.

An exceptional destiny in Napoleon’s shadow - Martin-Guillaume Biennais was born into a modest family in the Orne region (Lower Normandy), in 1764. He was trained as a craftsman and settled in Paris in 1788 as a tablet-maker, i.e., a carver of small wooden or ivory objects. Legend has it that he gave General Bonaparte credit when the latter wanted to set up house on his return from Egypt. In exchange for this trust, his fortune was made, since Bonaparte made it possible for him to extend his activities to goldsmithery and called upon his services during the Consulate. He commissioned the regalia used at his coronation, in 1804, from Biennais and finally appointed him First Goldsmith. Members of the imperial family and high-ranking court officials became his clientele. Biennais opened shop in the Rue Saint-Honoré, under the sign Au singe violet, where, as his success continued to grow, he employed a large number of workmen.

Tableware - The most spectacular aspect of Biennais’ production was the silver-gilt (also called vermeil) tableware. He made several dinner services for the court, but all have been lost. Only two tea services have miraculously survived, and are on view here: the first was made for Josephine; the second was executed on the occasion of Napoleon and Archduchess Marie-Louise’s wedding in 1810. The latter tea service is currently owned by the Louvre and the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. It has been specially reunited for the exhibition.

Toilet cases - The toilet cases are Biennais’ best-known works because they were his speciality. A large chest contained a host of ingeniously arranged, toiletries and useful articles. Napoleon owned several of them and took them with him on his campaigns. The one he gave Tsar Alexander in 1808 is also on display.

Furniture - Small pieces of furniture recall how Biennais had extended his activities to cabinetmaking for the articles he made for washing and for desks. One such item is the washstand he made for the emperor’s bedchamber at the Tuileries, an article for personal hygiene that followed Napoleon to St Helena.

Insignia - Biennais also made royal and imperial insignia, such as the regalia known as “Charlemagne’s honours” that were used at Napoleon’s coronation, weapons or ceremonial necklaces like that of the Legion of Honour, an order founded by Napoleon.

Sources - These objects were generally made from designs given to Biennais by Charles Percier, the emperor’s famous architect. A section in which parallels are drawn between the original drawings and the final objects is another unprecedented feature of the exhibition. It shows how Biennais developed his own sober style influenced by his taste for the Antique.