"Bonaparte Crossing the Alps by the Great Saint Bernard Pass" (circa 1807) by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse with Jacques-Louis David

BATON ROUGE, LA.-Louisiana will at last welcome Bonaparte when Treasures of NAPOLEON arrives at the Louisiana State Museum's OLD U.S. MINT in the New Orleans French Quarter from April 6th to August 3rd, 2008.

The spectacular traveling exhibition Treasures of NAPOLEON, tells the fascinating story of Napoléon and showcases the world-class art and design of his time. It has already been seen by 125,000 visitors and universally praised.

Created from the extraordinary collection of 1st Empire authority and author, Pierre-Jean Chalençon, the exhibit showcases rare, personal belongings of Napoléon I, as well as some of the most famous depictions of him by the greatest artists of the time. While elements of the exhibition have been loaned for major exhibitions around the world, this is the first time these irreplaceable artifacts are being seen in North America.

Treasures of NAPOLEON offers visitors an opportunity to see beyond the “legend” of Napoléon Bonaparte to gain an understanding of this complex figure as a man. User-friendly interpretive text and more than 250 objects, framed paintings, prints and documents, as well as furniture from the Imperial palaces, shine a light on the extraordinary life of one of history's pivotal figures.

Treasures of Napoléon offers visitors an amazing opportunity to see beyond the myth of Napoléon Bonaparte and gain an understanding of this complex figure as a man. The exhibition includes more than 400 extraordinary artifacts including the earliest known letter in his hand; the valise that brought him the signed Louisiana Purchase documents from America; the sword that proclaimed him Emperor in the Coronation Ceremony at Notre Dame; his camp bed from the Battle of Wagram; his personal map of the French Empire (1812); and the clothes he wore soon before his death.