Medallion in silver commemorating the festivities held by the City of Paris at the Hôtel de Ville on 16 December 1804

Description

Circular commemorative medal by Nicolas-Guy-Antoine Brenet, issued in Year XIII (1804) for the coronation festivities held at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The obverse presents conjoined right-facing profiles of Napoleon, laureate, and Joséphine, diademed and draped, surrounded by the inscription NAPOLEON – JOSEPHINE and signed BRENET below. The reverse depicts a laurel-crowned imperial eagle with outstretched wings, resting upon a nest of oak and laurel branches between rocky outcrops. Above appears the Latin legend FIXA PERENNIS IN ALTO SEDES—“its seat, fixed on high, is everlasting”—with the commemorative inscription FÊTES DU COURONNEMENT / DONNÉES / À L’HÔTEL DE VILLE / AN XIII in the exergue.

History & Context

This medal was created by Nicolas-Guy-Antoine Brenet to commemorate the festivities held by the City of Paris at the Hôtel de Ville on 16 December 1804 (25 Frimaire, Year XIII), a fortnight after the coronation of Napoleon I and Joséphine at Notre-Dame. The reception formed part of the elaborate civic celebrations through which Paris acknowledged the newly established imperial regime. On the obverse, the laureate profile of Napoleon is joined with the diademed portrait of Joséphine, presenting the imperial couple in the tradition of ancient Roman rulers and proclaiming both the dignity and dynastic character of the new Empire.

The reverse bears a crowned imperial eagle with outstretched wings, enthroned high upon a nest formed from branches of oak and laurel. The Latin legend FIXA PERENNIS IN ALTO SEDES—“its seat, fixed on high, is everlasting”—expresses the intended permanence and elevated authority of Napoleon’s rule. The imagery combines the imperial eagle with laurel for victory and oak for strength, transforming the medal into a carefully constructed statement of legitimacy, stability and enduring power. The event is identified in the exergue: FÊTES DU COURONNEMENT DONNÉES À L’HÔTEL DE VILLE, AN XIII.
This is the first medallion issued that to featured an image of Empress Josephine.

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