![Gold finger ring with the portrait of Napoleon, around 1800.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/blog-napoloen-ring-titel-300x225.jpg)
Finger rings from the time of the Napoleonic Wars
Jewellery can reach beyond its purely decorative function to consciously document historical events. Alice and Louis Koch's extensive collection of rings includes several specimens that reflect the events of Napoleon's tumultuous time.
![Meeting between Napoleon and the Austrian Emperor on 4 December 1805. Painting by Antoine-Jean Gros, c. 1810.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/1-treffen-zwischen-napoleon-und-dem-osterreichischen-kaiser-am-4-dezember-1805-300x215.jpg)
![Finger ring with a watercolour surrounded by rubies, 1805.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/1-fingerring-mit-einem-vom-rubinen-umfassten-aquarell-gbe-148112-dep-11536-300x239.jpg)
![Napoleon receives Queen Louise of Prussia in Tilsit on 6 July 1807. Painting by Nicolas-Louis-François Gosse.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/2-napoleon-empfangt-konigin-luise-von-preussen-am-6-juli-1807-in-tilsit-300x209.jpg)
![Commemorative gold and iron ring depicting Queen Louise of Prussia, after 1810.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/2-gedenkring-aus-gold-und-eisen-mit-darstellung-der-konigin-luise-von-preussen-gbe-148131-dep-11556-300x282.jpg)
![Iron finger ring with inscription in relief "Zum Wohl des Vaterlandes" (For the Welfare of the Fatherland), 1813.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/3-fingerring-aus-eisen-mit-reliefierter-inschrift-zum-wohl-des-vaterlandes-gbe-148147-dep-11581-300x153.jpg)
![Iron and silver plate finger ring with the engraving “für Gold erhielt ich Eisen” (for gold I received iron), 1813.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/4-fingerring-aus-eisen-und-silberblech-mit-der-gravur-fur-gold-erhielt-ich-eisen-gbe-148148-dep-11582-300x153.jpg)
![Gold and iron finger rings commemorating the Battle of Leipzig, 1813.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/5-fingerringe-aus-gold-und-eisen-zum-gedenken-an-die-schlacht-bei-leipzig-gbe-148134-dep-11560-und-gbe-148133-dep-11559-300x260.jpg)
![Iron signet ring commemorating the Battle of Paris on 30.3.1814.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/6-siegelring-aus-eisen-zum-gedenken-an-die-schlacht-bei-paris-am-3031814-gbe-148136-dep-11562-300x240.jpg)
![Steel finger ring in the shape of a cavalry sabre with the inscription “hergestellt aus Blücher-Reitersäbeln v. 1813” (made from Blücher riding sabres), 1813 - 1819.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/7-fingerring-aus-stahl-in-der-form-eines-kavalleriesabels-gbe-148135-dep-11561-300x203.jpg)
![Silver finger ring commemorating Napoleon's victories. One side depicts an eagle, the other Napoleon's hat on crossed swords, made after 1870.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/8-fingerring-aus-silber-zur-erinnerung-an-die-siege-napoleons-gbe-148127-dep-11552-e1666071183203-300x188.jpg)
The collection
The exhibition showcases more than 7,000 exhibits from the Museum’s own collection, highlighting Swiss artistry and craftsmanship over a period of about 1,000 years. The exhibition spaces themselves are important witnesses to contemporary history, and tie in with the objects displayed to create a historically dense atmosphere that allows visitors to immerse themselves deeply in the past.