Calendar – Miniature Illustrated Manuscript – Ancona, 1811 – Napoleon Bonaparte

Calendar, manuscript on paper, with illustrations in color. Ancona, 1811. Painter: Iacob Israel Montefiore.
The title page with an illustration of the zodiac opens the calendar. Below the name of each month appear different digits (which appear also on the calendar's leaves) and the number of days in each month. In the center of the zodiac appear the painter's initials: IMF (Israel Montefiore). In the margins is written, "Ancona 1811."
The calendar contains twelve leaves with the Gregorian months of the year. The name of the month is written, in Italian, on the upper part of each leaf, within an illustrated frame. The lower part shows the number of days in each month as well as several digits (the meaning of the latter is unclear; some digits appear more frequently than others, sometimes even more than once on a leaf).
On the last leaf is the emblem of Napoleon Bonaparte, the center of which shows the painter's name: Iacob Israel M,fiori, and a star within which appears the letter "N."
Iacov Israel Montefiore (b. 1748) was a descendant of the Montefiore family who lived in Ancona (the Italian branch of the family of the famous minister Moses Montefiore). The Jews of Ancona lived in a ghetto in appalling conditions until the arrival of Napoleon in 1797 and the subsequent conquest of the city, which led to the demolition of the ghetto walls. For the Jews of Ancona, Napoleon was a redeemer because of his contribution to their emancipation. This resulted in the creation of widespread folk art connected to Napoleon. The last leaf of this calendar represents Iacov Israel Montefiore's part in this phenomenon.
The star seen in the final illustration is not part of Napoleon's official emblem but it is meant to symbolize "Napoleon's Star." In 1811, a huge comet that appeared in the skies above Europe' was observed for 260 days. This unusual occurrence was reflected in different areas of art, literature and science of the period, and astronomers in Europe conducted numerous calculations related to the comet. [Perhaps the unknown digits in this calendar are related to this.]. Napoleon was at his prime in that year and this is the reason the comet was named "Napoleon's Star." In this manner, Napoleon's success was associated with the heavens. This rare item is possibly connected to the comet event and maybe it shows Montefiore's calculations regarding "Napoleon's Star." However according to a professional opinion, Montefiore's time calculations are neither accurate nor scientific, and therefore it is possible that the digits are some kind of code.
[14] leaves, 9 cm. Good condition, with some staining. Original binding, somewhat worn.