Under the Napoleonic Eagle

New Exhibition!

It is impossible to overestimate the impact that the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, whom it elevated on its waves, had on our world. We most often regard Napoleon as a great military leader whose military successes reshaped European warfare and influenced military thinking for years to come. His political skills allowed him to consolidate power and establish the Napoleonic Empire in Europe. His conquests spread the principles of the French Revolution, and while his rule was often oppressive, it also had a profound impact on the development of modern European nations. The 1804 Napoleonic Code influenced civil law codes worldwide, promoting equality of all men before the law and individual rights, as well as the secular character of the state. His reforms included the establishment of government-run schools and public works projects. Napoleon’s reign inspired artistic and literary movements. His patronage of the arts and encouragement of intellectual pursuits left a lasting cultural legacy.

By establishing the Order of the Legion of Honour in 1802, Napoleon also created a blueprint for most of the following state orders and decorations. Like a sponge, the Order of the Legion of Honour soaked in all the progressive principles of the French Revolution, all those principles that we hold dear today: liberty, equality, fraternity and ensured its survival as a great order, known and respected through all the world, even after its creator fell from grace. 

As Napoleon grew his Empire, he put his closest relatives and friends on the thrones of conquered countries: Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Westphalia, the Two Sicilies. For a brief moment in the history of those countries, their old orders (where they existed) were abolished, and new ones were created. These new orders followed the example of the Legion of Honour and had beautiful, original and sometimes unusual designs and fascinating symbology: bees, wolves, lions, snakes and the all-powerful eagle above them all – The Great Napoleonic Eagle – a symbol of power and a connection to an ancient past. Inspired by the eagle standards of the Roman legions, the Eagle was not the only symbol, alluding to Bonaparte’s claim to ancient roots. As Napoleon crowned himself the King of Rome with the famous Iron Crown, he thought to solidify his status with the Order of the Iron Crown, which you will see today. The Capitoline Wolf of Rome, suckling Romulus and Remus, is depicted on another no longer awarded order – the French Order of the Reunion.

With our new exhibition we pay homage both to the trailblazing order of the Legion of Honour and the orders that closely followed but only shined for a very short, although significant, time in history.