Part of wreath sent by Napoleon from Elba to intimate the season at which he might be expected to make his escape, in ornate box

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was Emperor of France between 1804 and 1814. He abdicated power at Fontainebleau in France and was exiled to the island of Elba in 1814 by Allied forces. He stayed there only nine months before escaping with an army of 1000 men. This ornate box contains the remains of a wreath that was sent from Elba by Bonaparte to intimate the season he might escape. He was finally defeated at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.