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Our replicas ...
... The Larrey ...
Coming from a unique and prestigious piece of the 1st Empire, this replica is the result of a long-term work, historically as well as technically. As for the official history, this knife was the property of General Bonaparte before he gave it to the Grande Armée surgeon-in-chief Dominique Larrey (1766 - 1842). Noticed by Bonaparte during the campaign in Egypt, Larrey became very quickly a close friend of the young general and consequently he followed him on all the battle fields. Nicknamed “the most valourous of men” by the emperor, Larrey was indeed a skillful surgeon who unceasingly worked to improve the not very enviable lot of the soldiers of the Grande Armée. All could witness his devotion; he could be seen, with his “flying ambulances”, removing the casualties during the action and operating them within minutes, which, for the time, was completely new. His work on amputations, food, hygiene and especially the plague epidemics, which decimated more surely the Napoleonean troops than fire, gave him a notoriety without equal among the “Grognards” who went as far as nicknaming him “the providence of the soldier”.
Thus Larrey’s life has certain similarities with an adventure story. He is the one who embalmed Kléber, who had been murdered in 1800 in Cairo. In Waterloo, he was taken prisoner and, as he was about to be shot, some enemy officers, whom he had previously looked after, recognized him and set him free. He took part in 60 battles, had been promoted “Baron d’ Empire” by Napoleon, had been imprisoned by the police force of Fouché during the Restoration and later appointed surgeon-in-chief of the hospital of the Invalids after the Revolution of July 1830. He died in Lyon 12 years later, covered with glory.
Napoleon Bonaparte bears, as can be easily imagined, all the reasons to cherish such a popular character within the troops and it is what he did throughout his reign. This exceptional knife just proves it. It is the guardian of a very old technique that has almost disappeared today : the incrustation of figurative designs in gold or silver on the surface of tortoise shell. Still hard to finalize once the technique was rediscovered, this made us spend a few sleepless nights before reaching our aim.
The knife itself is typical of the 1st Empire’s luxurious technique. The parts in shell encrusted with gold and silver designs are part of the body of the knife itself. The star, the sun, the moon and the snake are four symbolic elements related with Freemasonry, a brotherhood then very much present within the ranks of the officers of the Napoleonean army. The central silver designs are pretty surely the attributes of Larrey’s regiment. All the rivets are dissimulated by the decorative elements, which makes the knife impossible to take apart without destroying it… a real symbol when one thinks of the indestructible friendship which bound the two men.
For Larrey this knife was a very effective means to let people know the high esteem in which he was held by the Emperor. Refined, richly decorated, very original aesthetically and prestigious because of its origins, Baron Domenica Larrey’s knife never stopped to astonish us since its discovery; to finish with, here is the transcription of the text which accompanied it in its original case, some handwritten lines on a very old paper. “Knife of a rich campaign set bearing the emblems of Freemasonry, belonging to general Bonaparte during his expedition to Egypt. He gave it to Larrey.”
(The original piece can be seen at the Carnavalet museum in Paris)
Thus Larrey’s life has certain similarities with an adventure story. He is the one who embalmed Kléber, who had been murdered in 1800 in Cairo. In Waterloo, he was taken prisoner and, as he was about to be shot, some enemy officers, whom he had previously looked after, recognized him and set him free. He took part in 60 battles, had been promoted “Baron d’ Empire” by Napoleon, had been imprisoned by the police force of Fouché during the Restoration and later appointed surgeon-in-chief of the hospital of the Invalids after the Revolution of July 1830. He died in Lyon 12 years later, covered with glory.
Napoleon Bonaparte bears, as can be easily imagined, all the reasons to cherish such a popular character within the troops and it is what he did throughout his reign. This exceptional knife just proves it. It is the guardian of a very old technique that has almost disappeared today : the incrustation of figurative designs in gold or silver on the surface of tortoise shell. Still hard to finalize once the technique was rediscovered, this made us spend a few sleepless nights before reaching our aim.
The knife itself is typical of the 1st Empire’s luxurious technique. The parts in shell encrusted with gold and silver designs are part of the body of the knife itself. The star, the sun, the moon and the snake are four symbolic elements related with Freemasonry, a brotherhood then very much present within the ranks of the officers of the Napoleonean army. The central silver designs are pretty surely the attributes of Larrey’s regiment. All the rivets are dissimulated by the decorative elements, which makes the knife impossible to take apart without destroying it… a real symbol when one thinks of the indestructible friendship which bound the two men.
For Larrey this knife was a very effective means to let people know the high esteem in which he was held by the Emperor. Refined, richly decorated, very original aesthetically and prestigious because of its origins, Baron Domenica Larrey’s knife never stopped to astonish us since its discovery; to finish with, here is the transcription of the text which accompanied it in its original case, some handwritten lines on a very old paper. “Knife of a rich campaign set bearing the emblems of Freemasonry, belonging to general Bonaparte during his expedition to Egypt. He gave it to Larrey.”
(The original piece can be seen at the Carnavalet museum in Paris)
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