NAPOLEON'S+DEATH+MASKSCRIPT

NAPOLEON'S DEATH SCRIPT

This death mask is allegedly a cast of Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous French military leader and emperor. The mask was created by Dr. Francesco Antommarchi, who was an attending physician for the British Navy at Napoleon’s death when in exile on the island of Santa Helena. The mask was created in honor of Napoleon, who sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803. This land deal is known as the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the U.S. under President Thomas Jefferson

To create the mask, first, a mold is made by covering the face with plaster of Paris. Plaster, wax, and metal are often used to make death masks. Dr. Antonmarchi allegedly made three copies of bronze when he lived in Paris during the early 1830s. The mask weighs approximately 8.5 pounds.

Dr. Antommarchi presented the death mask to the city of New Orleans shortly after he immigrated here in 1834. City officials displayed the mask in the Cabildo, with the instruments Dr. Antommarchi had used at the autopsy of Napoleon. The Louisiana State Museum acquired the mask in the early 1900s. .