VEST CHAIN BELONGING TO EMPEROR NAPOLEON IER. Braided gold chain called Brazilian chain, given by Emperor Napoleon I to the daughter of the Mamluk Ali at her birth. Length: 196 cm. Weight: 52.8g. Presented in a case. Provenance : -Souvenirs du Mamelouk Ali, Versailles (Maître Blache), June 4, 1970, no. 295. -L'Empire à Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau (Osenat), December 11, 2005, no. 460. Historical background: In his "Souvenirs", Ali mentions this gift: "In Noverraz's garden, there was a small oak... On July 31, 1820, "he was having lunch under this tree with M. de Montholon... He said to me: 'Go and fetch your daughter and tell Marchand to come. My daughter Clémence had been born the day before. I promptly carried out his orders, and in no time I was back, presenting him with my child... Marchand presented the Emperor with a Brazilian chain, which he had long worn on his watch. After examining my daughter for a few moments, he doubled the chain and laid it on her body, saying: "This is my first gift to her...". I never think of that scene without feeling my eyes wet with tears.