Josephine necklace (reproduction)

MCL-SCU-888010

Le Louvre Museum Jewellery Collection

Inspired by a 1812 painting of Empress Joséphine by Firmin Massot, a leading Swiss painter of his time. He excelled in portraiture. Among the most famous people also painted by Massot were Madame de Staël and her children, Madame Récamier and Queen Hortense.

Born in 1763 in Martinique, Marie-Joseph-Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie was sent to France at the age of 16 to marry Alexandre de Beauharnais. In 1795, by then a widow, she met Bonaparte, who feminized her second forename, and married her in a civil ceremony in 1796. In 1804, he crowned her Empress during the coronation.

The Empress was passionate about jewellery and owned several sets of pearls and precious stones, mainly purchased from her private purse. Few have survived, as her daughter, Queen Hortense, sold almost all of them.

Material: colored glass beads
Size: 43 x 1 cm
Price : USD 55 / RMB 369 / HKD 428