London – Napoleon Bonaparte believed in keeping the reins of power within easy reach. As his armies swept across Europe dispossessing kings and princes, he installed trusted commanders and relatives in the vacant positions. With dreams of establishing a Napoleonic dynasty he appointed his infant son, King of Rome. His younger brother, Louis, was made the first King of Holland and his eldest brother, Joseph, became King of Naples and the Two Sicilies in 1806. During his reign, Joseph commissioned a magnificent sabre deluxe which is to be offered at Bonhams Napoleon Bonaparte: The British Sale in London on Wednesday 27 October. The sword, with the unique inscription VIVA IL RE GIUSEPPE NAPOLEONE (LONG LIVE KING JOSEPH NAPOLEON) along both sides of the blade, is the leading lot of the sale. Never before offered for sale, it is estimated at £250,000-350,000.

The sword was produced between 1806-1808 by the Royal Arms Manufactory of the Torre Annunziata in the Kingdom of Naples and the Two Sicilies. The blade itself, however, was most likely to have been made by Coulaux at Klingenthal in Alsace (Klingenthal means Blade Valley in German) as the type of engraving on the blade was not known in Naples.
Joseph was a conscientious, benevolent, and popular king of Naples acclaimed for his programme of public works and his social reforms – he abolished unpopular feudal taxes, for example, and established schools and colleges for girls and young women. It was with some reluctance that he left Naples in 1808 when, at Napoleon's insistence, he become the King in Spain. There, he endured a hostile reception and was never able to establish complete control over the country. He abdicated after his defeat at the Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813. This not only ended French rule in Spain it also led to the capture of Joseph's fabulous sabre by the British, led by the Marquis of Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington).

Head of Sale, Simon Cottle, said; "Joseph was Napoleon's most trusted and loyal family member and a lawyer and diplomat of great standing. This magnificent imperial sabre with its proud inscription exemplifies the respect held for Joseph within Napoleon Bonaparte's close family circle. There is only one other blade inscribed in a comparable way. It was made for the Emperor Napoleon himself and is now in the collection of the Museo Ejercito in Spain. The sword is being offered for sale for the first time. This is a very rare opportunity to acquire a piece which is not only historically important but, in its craftsmanship and astonishing level of detailed decoration, also a work of art in its own right."

5 October 2012