248 - PEWTER SOLDIERS MODELED AFTER THE SET PRESENTED TO THE KING OF ROME

PEWTER SOLDIERS MODELED AFTER THE SET PRESENTED TO THE KING OF ROME Rare set of 47 small painted pewter soldiers Rare set of 47 small painted pewter soldiers (the term “lead” was erroneously adopted by historians), modeled after the 22nd Regiment of Light Infantry, which was presented to the King of Rome in 1812. Each is depicted as a bust on a pedestal, wearing a shako with a plume and displaying his rank or grade; most have red or silver epaulets, while two officers have yellow epaulets. Presented in sets of sixteen on three original wooden bars used to hold them in place (one of the bars holds fifteen; one soldier is missing). Signs of wear but in good condition. First Empire period, circa 1812–1814. H. 3.6 cm. Related Works - The complete 120-piece regiment of the 22nd Light Infantry with traces of gilding, from the King of Rome, previously sold at Coutau-Bégarie, July 9, 2004, lot 455 (sold for €178,710), is currently in the Bruno Ledoux collection. They originated, in particular, from Empress Eugénie at the Tuileries. - Three pewter soldiers from another regiment, brought back from Austria by Madame Soufflot, deputy governess to the King of Rome, are housed at the Fondation Napoléon (inv. 905). - 95 soldiers on bars, Osenat auction, December 4, 2011, lot 194. - 8 soldiers on a barrette, Leclere auction, April 12, 2017, lot 77. - 14 soldiers on barrettes, Millon auction, June 25, 2019, lot 175. - 12 soldiers, Osenat auction, March 24, 2024, lot 140. - 79 soldiers, Millon auction, November 15, 2024, lot 155 (sold for €9,500). History During the Empire, there were only a few toy merchants in Paris, such as Cacheleux at 116 Rue Saint-Denis, or Mittou at 81 Rue Neuve des Petits Champs. The latter was the only one to bear the prestigious title of “Toy Merchant to the Children of the Imperial and Royal Family.” In 1812, Napoleon placed an order for two complete sets of 120 figurines each, depicting the 21st and 22nd Light Regiments, the first bearing the cipher of Empress Marie-Louise, the second that of the Emperor. Since this was the imperial couple’s first birthday gift to their son, the toy had to stand out from the other presents given by members of the imperial family and court. The silversmith Jean-Baptiste Odiot was then commissioned to gild each of the 240 small lead figurines—36 mm tall, in the round—depicting the bust of a soldier wearing a shako and mounted on a pedestal. Ranks were indicated in black letters on the shakos; the epaulets of the soldiers and noncommissioned officers are painted red, while those of the officers are painted yellow. Each set, known as a “demonstration set,” was arranged on twelve small boards, each holding ten figurines. Two years later, Marie-Louise presented her son with another, larger set, as documented in a memorandum by Mittou dated January 15, 1814: “Sold to Her Majesty the Empress (...) 1 large box of tin soldiers consisting of five cavalry regiments and five infantry regiments, all in good condition and complete.” It was after the fall of the Empire that the King of Rome’s little tin soldiers would experience the vicissitudes of history. To enable their passage from France to Austria so they could be returned to the “Eaglet” while evading Metternich’s surveillance, the sets were meticulously disguised by a silversmith from Nancy, André Grapin. The gold plating was completely scraped off, all imperial insignia were erased, and the set was repainted in the three colors of Marie-Louise’s honor guard in Parma: black, blue, and red. During the Second Empire, some of the soldiers were returned to Napoleon III through the de Pierres family, who were related to the Metternichs. In September 1870, before fleeing the Tuileries, Empress Eugénie entrusted the complete set of the 22nd Light Infantry to her chief equerry, Baron de Pierres. As for the soldiers of the 21st, to which the three figurines in the Fondation Napoléon’s collection belong, they were scattered among various owners. It is not known whether all the “King of Rome” figurines were gilded, but the few rare sets of ungilded pewter soldiers that have appeared on the art market in recent years suggest that their use must have been more or less widespread among the Imperial Family’s entourage. In fact, in 2024 we sold 79 soldiers from the Davout family at Millon, leading us to believe that the marshal’s only surviving son, Napoleon-Louis (1811–1853), or one of his sisters, such as Joséphine-Antoinette, may have received them from their father around 1813–1814. Bibliography - *Napoléon intime: Les trésors de la collection Bruno Ledoux*, Éditions du Seuil, 2018, p. 164. - Alain Cattagni (ed.), Exhibition catalog, *Louis-Nicolas Davout, Marshal of E*