Imperial prince military jacket
Clothes for Men
Inventory number
2019.4.29.14.CM.CT.C1870.GBDescription
Black waist-length, double-breasted military jacket of figured black wool with 5 pairs of eglomisé glass buttons with stars. Ancient property of Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph BONAPARTE, Prince Imperial (16 March 1856 – 1 June 1879).Also known as Louis-Napoléon BONAPARTE, he was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III and his wife, Eugénie de MONTIJO. After his father was dethroned in 1870, he relocated with his family to England. On his father's death in January 1873, he was proclaimed by the Bonapartist faction as Napoleon IV, Emperor of the French. In England, he trained as a soldier. Keen to see action, he successfully put pressure on the British to allow him to participate in the Anglo-Zulu War. In 1879, serving with British forces, he was killed in a skirmish with a group of Zulus. His early death sent shockwaves throughout Europe, as he was the last serious dynastic hope for the restoration of the House of Bonaparte to the throne of France.
Materials
WoolSilk
Linen
Origin
circa 1870 United KingdomExhibitions History
• 2019.10.24–2020.03.28. ‘The Crinoline Lady. From Alexandre Vassiliev foundation collection.’ Fashion Museum, Riga, Latvia.• 2021.04.19–2021.10.30. ‘The Crinoline Lady (1850–1869). From Alexandre Vassiliev foundation collection.’ Silute Hugo Sheu Museum (Hugo Sheu Manor), Silutė, Lithuania.
• 2022.07.08–2022.11.01. ‘The Beginnings of the Railway in Liepaja (1871–1940). From the collection of Alexandre Vassiliev foundation.’ Liepaja Museum, Liepaja, Latvia.
• 2025.01.10–2025.02.15. ‘Family gatherings and festivities. 1860–1980. From the collection of Alexandre Vassiliev foundation.’ Visaginas culture center ‘Sedulina’, Visaginas, Lithuania.
• 2025.05.20–2025.10.26. ‘Fashion and silhouettes: from Classicism to Modernism. From the collection of Alexandre Vassiliev foundation.’ Daugyvenė museum-reserve of cultural history (Burbiškis Manor), Radviliškis district, Lithuania.