Exceptional Grand Cross jewel of the Legion of Honor in diamonds offered by Napoleon III to Achille Fould on August 14, 1857, after the inauguration of the "New Louvre.". COLLECTION PHILIPPE MISSILLIER, Étude Giquello, Drouot - salles 5-6, les 6 & 7 mars 2025

PHILIPPE MISSILLIER COLLECTION
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Friday, March 7, 2025 - 11am to 12pm
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Friday, March 7, 2025 - 2pm
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EXHIBITION
Tuesday, March 4 from 11am to 6pm
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Thursday, March 6 from 11am to 12pm
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GIQUELLO
Alexandre Giquello
Violette Stcherbatcheff
5, rue La Boétie - 75008 Paris
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Subject to approval
lot no. 2002 389

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Lot no. 180 (from the auction)
Exceptional Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor jewel in diamonds offered by Napoleon III to Achille Fould on August 14,
1857, after the inauguration of the "Nouveau Louvre"

Large gold star with five double pointed rays, set with diamonds on the front, opaque white enamel on the back.
The branches angled with a fruit and vegetable crown in finely engraved gold set with emeralds, on the right an oak branch,
on the left a laurel branch with fruit set with rubies, linked between the lower points by a finely engraved gold knot resembling a fringed moiré ribbon with two separate pendants. The central medallion in three parts on the front shows the profile of the Emperor to the right crowned with laurel on a radiant background set with diamond roses. The navy blue enamel border bears the inscription "NAPOLEON EMP. DES FRANCAIS", punctuated by a star. In two parts on the back, it depicts the imperial eagle, head to the right, trampling a thunderbolt and lightning on a matte background, surrounded by the order's motto "HONNEUR ET PATRIE.", punctuated by a star and two dots. Above, attached to the star by a double gold ribbon set with rubies, is the substantial articulated imperial crown with eight arches resting on raised imperial eagles, the front set with diamonds, the back intricately carved gold, with enameled jewel-encrusted band. It is topped with a cruciferous globe to which the suspension ring, almost entirely set with diamonds, is attached. The set is adorned with approximately 320 brilliant and rose-cut diamonds, 12 rubies, and 32 emeralds (one missing).
H. 120 mm - W. 73 mm - Weight: 112 g
Although there are no visible marks, this jewel was likely made by the house Ouizille-Lemoine, supplier
of the Legion of Honor, who delivered a complete set of diamond-set grand crosses to Napoleon III in 1855 (the diamonds were later removed and sold in 1887).
France, circa 1857

€80,000-120,000
Provenance:
- Achille Fould, then by descent.
- Thierry de Maigret, Ancient Weapons and Historical Souvenirs, Paris, November 23, 2012, no. 387.

Napoleon III is the only French sovereign to have awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor adorned with diamonds not as a princely gift inherited from the royal traditions of the Ancien Régime, but rather considered as a superior class, thus imitating other European courts, notably Austria and Russia. Napoleon and his son had indeed worn such insignia (necklace, plaque, jewel, and stars), but these were regalia, not a mark of a higher rank. Likewise, Napoleon had also occasionally given diamond insignia to a few individuals as a sign of particular satisfaction, but these jewels remained imperial gifts, not a specific class; furthermore, the Emperor never bestowed a grand-eagle in diamonds upon a foreign sovereign.
The policy of his nephew is quite different. Following his uncle's lead, he first commissioned diamond decorations from Ouizille-Lemoine for the 1855 Universal Exhibition (destroyed in 1887), which, combined with a set paid for from his personal funds (the jewel is in the museum of the Legion of Honor and orders of chivalry, on loan from Ambassador Spada 2008-no.1234), served as his regalia throughout his reign. Then, at his discretion, he exceptionally awarded the Grand Cross in diamonds to a few foreign sovereigns he wished to distinguish in an exceptional manner, as well as to French personalities already Grand Cross recipients who deserved a new and eminent public recognition.
This little-documented and exceedingly rare practice does not seem to be attested before 1855. The first monarch to receive from the hands of the Ambassador of France to Constantinople "The insignia, in magnificent diamonds (...) in an ebony box bearing the Emperor's monogram" was Sultan Abdul-Medjid on December 29, 1855 (now preserved at Topkapi Palace). On September 17, 1860, in Algiers, Mohammed el Sadok, Bey of Tunis, received the same insignia from Napoleon III, which were subsequently worn by all his successors until 1957 (now presumably kept at the Central Bank of Tunisia). Emir Abdelkader, Grand Cross on August 5, 1860, for his actions during the Damascus Christian massacre, also appears to have received diamond insignia (location unknown). It seems that only two Frenchmen, both State Ministers and already Grand Crosses of the Legion of Honor, received diamonds from Napoleon III: on August 14, 1857, Achille Fould during the inauguration of the "Nouveau Louvre", he had been a Grand Cross since March 18, 1856; and on July 13, 1867, Eugène Rouher, in a gesture of imperial support in the face of hostility from the Legislative Corps, who had been a Grand Cross since January 25, 1860.
Extremely rarely bestowed by Napoleon III, the Legion of Honor diamonds were therefore a supreme and rare honor. The only one remaining in private hands, this jewel marks an apex in the realm of knightly jewelry excellence and an end, as after it, such masterpieces were never again awarded in France.
Achille Fould (1800-1867), from a family of bankers of Lorraine origin, a horse enthusiast, he was one of the founders of the Jockey Club. Close to the Orléans family, he entered politics in 1839 as a general counselor in Tarbes, deputy for Hautes-Pyrénées in 1842 and then for Seine in 1848, a finance specialist, close to the Prince-President, he became Minister of Finance in 1849. He actively participated in the December 2, 1851 coup d'état. Leaving the Ministry of Finance in 1852, he was appointed Senator and Minister of State and of the Emperor's Household. This position made him the second most important figure in the Empire and the most influential on political, financial, economic, and cultural matters. He presided over the works of the "Nouveau Louvre," a secular project of the French kings adopted by Napoleon III. On August 14, 1857, after a magnificent inauguration ceremony, the Emperor bestowed upon him the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor with diamonds "as a token of his special satisfaction" (Le Moniteur universel, August 16 and 17, 1857). At that time, he was the only one in France decorated with these insignia. He chose to be depicted wearing them by the painter Charles Philippe Larivière, in a spectacular portrait in State Minister attire, hand resting on the Louvre plans (Thierry de Maigret auction, December 4, 2020, no. 227). In Napoleon III's absence during the Italian campaign in 1859, he led the government. He resigned from his positions in 1860 and retired to Tarbes. After the publication in 1861 of a report "on the state of Finances," he was called back by the Emperor to the Ministry of Finance, which he managed with firmness and rigor until 1866 when he clashed with Napoleon III over the Army budget. He resigned in 1867, retired to Tarbes, and died suddenly shortly thereafter.
Achille Fould was also awarded the Grand Crosses of the orders of Our Lady of the Conception of Vila Viçosa of Portugal in 1853, Ernestine House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1854, Leopold of Belgium in 1856, Leopold of Austria in 1864, and Our Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico in 1864.