The Legion of Honor was established by Napoleon Bonaparte on May 19, 1802. The Borodino Museum-Reserve houses several French state medals. The displayed artifact is the insignia of the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. It was made during the reign of Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte.
During the Bourbon Restoration, this French state award had a different design. The crown was the same, but the medallion depicted King Henry IV, the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon. Neither Louis XVIII nor Charles X, who succeeded him, placed their portraits on the award.
King Louis Philippe I, who ruled France from 1830 to 1848, also refrained from making any changes. The portrait of Henry IV was preserved on the insignia, but the reverse side of the Legion of Honor featured two crossed tricolors, instead of the three Fleur-de-lis.
The image of Napoleon surrounded by the inscription “Bonaparte First Consul May 19, 1802” returned to the Legion of Honor in 1848. However, the design of the reverse side was different for four years: the inscription “The French Republic” was placed in a circle, and the motto “HONNEUR ET PATRIE”, meaning “Honor and Fatherland”, was placed on the medallion.
This exhibit is a badge of the 1852/1870 model. The ten-pointed star is rendered in white enamel, it is placed on top of a laurel branch of green enamel. These elements, like the crown, remained unchanged.
In the middle part of the cross is a gilded medallion with a chest-length image of Napoleon in a victor’s laurel wreath. The medallion is bordered by an inscription in French on blue enamel: “NAPOLÉON EMPEREUR DES FRANÇAIS” (“Napoleon Emperor of the French”). On the obverse, a similar medallion depicts the imperial eagle with a scepter — the coat of arms of Napoleonic France. The badge was made using the drawing technique, that is, metal processing by applying pressure.
At various times, the Legion of Honor was awarded not only to French citizens, but also to foreigners. Bonaparte himself, after the Peace of Tilsit, awarded it to Emperor Alexander I, several Russian diplomats and courtiers. Later, the highest class of the order was granted to Emperor Alexander II, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, and Presidents of Russia Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.
