For several long years, the Brouwet collection rested in the storage rooms of the Royal Military Museum. It most certainly deserves our attention though. The medals making up the collection were patiently gathered by a collector with foolproof taste and are of the best quality. Also, the set presents a remarkable coherence.
The collection groups some 200 inventory numbers. Most of the orders were founded by emperor Napoleon I (Ordre de la Légion d’honneur, Ordre de la Couronne de Fer, Ordre de la Réunion) and his brothers (Ordre royal des Deux Siciles, Ordre de la Couronne de Westphalie, Ordre royal d’Espagne, Ordre royal de Hollande, Ordre de l’Union). Some 35 numbers are reserved for the French allied states such as Bavaria, Wurtenburg, Denmark, Portugal or Tuscany or for European orders such as the Order of the Gold Fleece, the Black Eagle of Prussia, the Order of Saint-Anna of Russia, etc.
The most spectacular pieces had already been revealed in works by Bourdier (1927 and re-published by his daughter Colette in 1977) and Jean-Pierre Collignon. The complete collection, however, remained somewhat of a mystery.
With the preparatory work for the bicentennial anniversary “Légion d’honneur” exhibition in 2002 also rose the idea to study and disclose the collection so many exhibition pieces came from. That was of course the
Brouwet collection, well-known to collectors and specialists and containing not only letters and autographs but also exceptional and unique medals or distinctive emblems.
This new publication devotes a lot of attention to illustrations. The reader gets both front and back views of the medals, mostly on a 1:1 scale. These pictures are completed by details of maker’s marks or enlargements of especially interesting parts. The quality and the sheer number of pictures lead us to believe that this work will be a success with both specialists and the general public alike.
Bibliography
A long list of works consulted by the author – and to be consulted by the reader – provides additional
information.
The author
Guy Deploige, enthused by distinctive medals from a very early age onwards, joined the Royal Military
Museum in 1998. He developed the Museum database and is also responsible for the technical and
administrative supervision of the medals collection. In 2002, he actively participated in the Légion d’honneur exhibition.
Photography
The medals were photographed by Bruno Couwenberg (http://www.couwenberg.be), a specialist in this very specific matter. The fabulous pictures do justice to the splendour of this unique collection.
The publisher
The Royal Museum of the Army and of Military History in Brussels ( http://www.klm-mra.be)
The book is in full colour and hard covered. Size: 22 x 28 cm, 400 pages and 866 illustrations.
ISBN: 2-87051-035-7
Price: € 40,-- plus shipping and handling
Order ?
by regular mail : Mr. P. Van Nieuwenborgh, Parc du Cinquantenaire 3, 1000 Brussels
by e-mail : infocom@klm-mra.be
by fax : +32 (0)2 737 78 02.
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