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Napoleon Bonaparte's death mask in bronze, cast 40 hours after his death on 5 May, 1821. During Napoleon's era, it was customary to create a death mask for prominent leaders who had recently passed away. Napoleon's own death mask, dated May 5, 1821, is believed to have been crafted, most likely, by Dr. Francesco Antommarchi, his personal physician who was present during his demise on Saint Helena Island in the South Atlantic.
The process involved applying wet plaster to Napoleon's face, allowing it to harden, and then carefully removing it to produce a mold from which copies could be made. However, a degree of mystery and controversy surrounds the original cast molds. Some argue that Francis Burton, a surgeon from the British Army's Sixty-Sixth Regiment stationed on St. Helena, conducted the autopsy and cast the original mold during the postmortem, with Antommarchi later producing a copy. 1 reply
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