It then supposedly came into the hands of Lord Burghersh, an English minister also residing in Florence and who was known by Antommarchi. The story of this mask runs as follows: It was destined to be sent to the Florentine sculptor Canova so that he could use it as the basis for a sculpture. The Antommarchi-Burghersh Mask (Musée de l’Armée – Hôtel des Invalides, Paris). © Musée de l’Armée. Inventory N°: d.f. It was bought by the French state in 1944.The Malmaison Mask could have been the first made on St Helena using Burton’s cast according to some historians, proof of this lies in the rough clay that was used to make the central part of the mask.
In 1921, the mask (and the box containing it) was given to the Musée National du Château de Malmaison by Edouard Azémar, grand-nephew of Doctor Antommarchi. Francesco Antommarchi died in Cuba with no direct descendants, so the mask came into the possession of his half-brother, also living in South America. This mask comes from the South-American branch of the Antommarchi family. The Antommarchi-Azhémar Mask also known as the Antommarchi Malmaison Mask ( Musée National du Château de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau, France) © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée des Châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau) / André Martin. Inventory N°: M.M. (A homage to Madame Bertrand’s peerless merit, 27 August 1821).A note by Bertrand’s – dated 1 September 1821 – corroborates the existence of a mask made from the cast fabricated on St Helena.Madame Hortense Brayer, daughter of Count and Countess Bertrand, inherited this mask, which she then gave to Prince Victor as a gift.It was given to the Musée National du Château de Malmaison in 1979 by the prince Napoleon Victor and his sister, the Countess de Witt, and has been kept there ever since. On the inside, there is an inscription in Italian: A l’impareggiabile merito di madame Bertrand, Antommarchi, 27 agosto 1821. The only mask whose provenance has been well identified: one of the first copies, possibly the first cast made from the original imprint made of Napoleon’s face after his death.This mask was made in London for Countess Bertrand.
Bertrand’s Mask also known as the Bertrand Malmaison Mask ( Musée National du Château de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau, France) © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée des Châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau).
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