Embroidered silk purse or document wallet.
Possibly PICOT · c1804
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Invitation to the wedding of Jerome Napoleon and Catherine of Württemberg 1807
Printed invitation to the marriage of Jerome Napoleon, King of Westphalia, and Princess Catherine of Württemberg.
Description
Printed official invitation issued by the Imperial Court for the ceremonies surrounding the marriage of Prince Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte and Princess Catherine of Württemberg in August 1807. Printed in an elegant calligraphic style, the invitation announces, by order of Emperor Napoleon I, that the signing of the marriage contract, civil ceremony and betrothal were to take place at the Tuileries Palace, in the Galerie de Diane, on 22 August 1807 at eight o’clock in the evening. Guests were instructed to enter through the Pavillon de Flore. The sheet also bears manuscript annotations, including later identification of Jérôme and his marriage, while the instruction “On sera en grand costume complet” — requiring attendance in full court dress — appears to have been added by hand. The document retains its original horizontal folds.
History & Context
The marriage of Jérôme Bonaparte and Princess Catherine of Württemberg in August 1807 formed part of Napoleon I’s wider policy of strengthening the new imperial dynasty through marriage alliances with Europe’s established ruling houses. Catherine was the daughter of Frederick I, King of Württemberg, an important German ally of France, while Jérôme had just been made King of the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia. Their union therefore carried considerable political significance, linking the Bonaparte family directly with one of the older German dynasties and reinforcing Napoleon’s reorganisation of central Europe following his military victories. The elaborate ceremonies at the Tuileries Palace, including the signing of the marriage contract, civil act and formal betrothal, were staged with the full ceremonial of the Imperial Court. This invitation, with its instruction that guests attend in grand costume complet and enter through the Pavillon de Flore for the ceremony in the Galerie de Diane, provides a tangible record of the highly regulated court etiquette and dynastic theatre that surrounded one of the most important marriages of the Napoleonic family.
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