Death Mask of Napoleon I

In Napoleon's time it was the custom to make death masks of national leaders. Napoleon's original mask was made just over a day after he died. A mixture of wax and plaster was applied to his face, allowed to harden and then removed. Further copies were made in bronze and plaster. This death mask is made of plaster, and was copied from the original made in 1821 by Dr Francis Burton, a surgeon attached to the British Amy's Sixty-Sixth Regiment on St Helena where Napoleon died.