RELIC OF SAINT HELENA Fragment of one of the bell cords used at Longwood during the exile of Emperor Napoleon I In damask fabric decorated with flowers, with a gilt bronze ring decorated with flowering horns of plenty. Framed under glass with a handwritten note from Valérie Masuyer: "Fragment of one of the Emperor's bell cords at St Helena in pink brocaded yellow silk with its handle decorated with horns of plenty and small roses in gilt bronze. Given by Mr Marchand, one of his universal legatees when the imperial ashes were returned to Paris. 18 December 1840. Valérie Masuyer. Lady-in-waiting to the late Queen Hortense. Under glass. Gilt frame. 41.5 x 51.5 cm Provenance : Former Napoleonic collection of the Prince's Palace of Monaco (2nd sale, lot 178) A fragment of one of the bell cords used at Longwood during the exile of Emperor Napoleon I Historical background : "Marchand then came into the room, and Napoleon ordered him to bring me orange flower water, which was his favourite remedy. In his haste to see me fall, he had broken the doorbell cord. He told me that he had picked me up and placed me on an armchair, that he had torn off my tie and thrown cologne and water on my face: he asked me if he had done the right thing. I told him that was all he had to do and that a surgeon could not have done it better; except that instead of letting me lie down, he had put me on an armchair. Barry O'Meara, Napoleon in Exile