SCHABRAQUE EMBROIDERY OF THE SADDLE RUG OF EMPEROR NAPOLEON III, modeled on the embroideries of the general officers of the Imperial Guard, Second Empire. 353/22342

SCHABRAQUE EMBROIDERY OF THE SADDLE RUG OF EMPEROR NAPOLEON III, modeled on the embroideries of the general officers of the Imperial Guard, Second Empire. 353/22342

Large embroidery of cannetille threads and golden sequins representing two branches of crossed oak leaves tied by a ribbon surmounted by an N surmounted by the imperial crown, mounted on a crimson sheet.

Height 24 cm, width 19 cm.

France.
Second Empire.
Good condition.

NOTE :
The saddle pads used by His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon III are modeled on the general officers of his Imperial Guard, with two variations:
1- the outer border of his carpets was garnished with gold braid folded and sewn,
2- the embroideries on the corners of the carpet are slightly different from those of the Imperial Guard, the crown does not have a ribbon, and the N surmounts two oak branches instead of an oak branch and a laurel branch for the generals of the Imperial Guard.
The example offered here does have these two characteristics, a strictly identical example belonging to the Collections of the Army Museum is presented in the work of Colonel M. DUGUÉ MAC CARTHY “THE FRENCH CAVALERY AND ITS HARNESSMENT” Maloine Edition, page 520 , Figure 10-32. In his work, the author specifies: “Emperor Napoleon III usually used the full dress harness of Guard officers, a logical solution since he wore the outfit of a major general commander in chief. The Army Museum has two saddle rugs that belonged to him, one during the Italian campaign in 1859, the other during the war of 1870. They are both of the model reserved for generals of the Guard with slight differences in the detail of the foliage embroidery. The one that the Emperor used has, in addition to the two regulatory braids, a small edge of a narrow gold braid sewn astride the entire perimeter of the carpet.
I give a photo (number 6) which illustrates these two variants.