This is perhaps one of the rarest of the French Empire bearskin plates. It was worn in the short period (1806-08) when JN was king of the two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily). After this, he became king of Spain, and Murat replaced him as king of the two Sicilies. There were probably no more than 1,000 men in the unit, so this is a very scarce plate.
This is a die-struck plate of very thin gilding metal/brass. It is constructed around an iron wire rim, where the plate has been folded over on the reverse for strength. There are even traces of the original bearskin on the reverse of the plate. There are also what appear to be six original brass wire fittings clipped into the securing holes around the rim. It is quite fragile; however, surprisingly, there are no visible cracks or signs of metal fatigue, other than two small splits in the rim on the reverse and a considerable amount of age bruising, which does not affect the central device or the crown. It measures 19cm across the base.
I have only had one of these in the last 40 years.
If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.
[Militaria : Headdress : Italian : 19th Century]
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