The Sword of Charlemagne, from Les Gemmes et joyaux de la couronne [The Gems and Crown Jewels], vol. 1

Illustrated with etchings by Jules Jacquemart so detailed and realistic that they rival photographs, the two-volume Les Gemmes series documents sixty objects from among the French crown jewels at the Louvre. At the time of its publication in 1865, the collection remained intact; many of the treasures were sold off in 1885 by the Third Republic. The collection contained crowns, scepters, jewels, and other symbols of royal power made between 752 and 1825. French archaeologist and art historian Henry Barbet de Jouy (1812–1896) authored the text that accompanies Jacquemart’s plates. More than an art historian’s attempt to catalog individual objects, Les Gemmes sought to locate the origins of France’s artistic and national identity in its medieval past. 

The sword of Charlemagne is believed by some to have belonged to the first Holy Roman Emperor, crowned as such by the Pope in 800, and revered for unifying western Europe.