Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Emperor of France, 1815 (c)

Miniature silhouette portrait in oil on glass, artist unknown, possibly made in France, nd.

This head and shoulders portrait in profile to left is painted on a round piece of glass. In a round wooden frame, with a suspension loop on the back.

Napoleon was a French military leader and statesman who rose to power during the French Revolution. A general by the age of 24, he was victorious in nearly all his battles and conquered and reshaped Europe. In 1799 he engineered the coup of 18 Brumaire and became First Consul of France. He was Emperor of France from 1804 to 1814 and then briefly in 1815. But final defeat came at Waterloo in 1815 and he was exiled to St Helena, where he died in 1821.