Many of the objects used in the coronation displayed Napoléon’s personal emblem, the bee. The symbol provided continuity with the ancient sovereign King Childeric I (father of Clovis, 5th Century King of the Franks) whose tomb, when discovered in 1653, revealed he had been buried with hundreds of inlaid golden bees.
Historical Provenance - Collection of Augustin François André Picot, the Emperor’s embroiderer
