Footnotes

Provenance:
Marshal Michel Ney (1769-1815);
Colonel Jean-Baptiste Esménard (1771-1842);
Bernard Franck (1848-1924);
by descent to his son;
André Levi Collection (according to handwritten notes included in the lot)

THE 'BLOOD-STAINED' GLOVES OF MARSHAL NEY, NAPOLEON'S 'BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE' WITH PROVENANCE FROM THE BERNARD FRANCK COLLECTION.

Dubbed by Napoleon, 'the bravest of the brave', Michel Ney (1769-1815) rose from humble beginnings to be one of Napoleon's eighteen marshals of the Empire. A veteran of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, he took command of the III Corps of La Grande Armée into Russia in April 1812 and distinguished himself at the battle of Borodino where he led his men into battle in full dress uniform. Once given the order to retreat, Ney, despite under pressure to surrender, managed to guide his troops over the frozen River Dnieper and repulsed attacks by Cossack forces, much to Napoleon's relief: '..."At last, I have saved my eagles! I have three hundred millions in francs at the Tuileries. I'd give up the lot to save Ney. What a soldier... truly the bravest of the brave!"...' (Horricks, Raymond, Military Politics from Bonaparte to the Bourbons: The Life and Death of Michel Ney, New Brunswick, 1995, p.139). His heroic command of the rear-guard led to the legend that he was the last Frenchman to leave Russia, fighting all the way.

According to handwritten notes of provenance with the lot, the gloves were purchased by a M. Levi from Bernard Franck's son when his father's collection was dispersed. Franck, a veteran of the Franco-Prussian war and wealthy industrialist, amassed a vast collection of items from the Napoleonic period, including portrait miniatures, militaria and a world-famous collection of Carnets de Bal which was sold to J.P. Morgan in 1910. A slip from an auction catalogue, bearing the lot number 96, is also amongst the notes ('...Une paire de gants... au Maréchal Ney... avec mot autograph de Monsieur Andre Levi...'), and a note written in blue biro titled "Declaration Levi" confirms that Franck purchased the gloves direct from the house of Colonel Esménard, along with a number of other articles belonging to the Marshal such as crosses, boxes and items of clothing, speculating "The gloves are said to have been worn by Ney during the Russian campaign, and the spots could be traces of blood".

Captain Esménard was indeed Ney's Aide-de-Camp but did not serve with him in the Russian campaign. He had served on Ney's staff in the Peninsula and, at the time of the retreat from Russia, was languishing in a Paris prison, where he had been since 1810 for his alleged involvement in a royalist plot, only to be released on Napoleon's first abdication in 1814. However, a letter from Ney dated April 1813, just months after the retreat from Moscow, indicates that Esménard was still held in high esteem, writing to the Finance Minister, the Duce de Gaète to request a position in the Inspectorate of Taxes for his erstwhile Aide-de-Camp in recognition of his "distinguished service" and "obvious talents" (see Maggs catalogue 1477, no.78). It is therefore conceivable that he could have been presented with the gloves in the years between the retreat from Russia and Ney's death in 1815.