Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu to include the personal archive of Louis Osman, goldsmith and architect

A shell cameo brooch carved to depict Napoléon III, the oval shell cameo depicting the profile of the French emperor Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, collet set within a ropetwist decorated mount, with hinged pendant fitting verso, length 45mm. £600-800

Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808-1873) was the first President of the French Republic and the last monarch of France. Made president by popular vote in 1848, Napoleon III ascended to the throne on 2nd December 1852, the 48th anniversary of his uncle, Napoleon I’s coronation. He ruled as Emperor of the French until September 1870, when he was captured in the Franco-Prussian War. He was deposed by the forces of the Third Republic in Paris.

He spent his last years of life in exile in England, with his wife Eugenie and their only son. The family lived at Camden Place, Chislehurst, where he died on 9th January 1873.