auction
Napoleon’s hat sold at auction for almost two million euros
One of Napoleon’s signature wide black hats has been auctioned in France. photo
© Christophe Ena/AP/dpa
Ridley Scott’s monumental Napoleon film will be in the cinema in a few days. In keeping with this, one of the emperor’s typical felt hats was auctioned off for a record sum.
A felt hat of the former French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was auctioned in France. The hat was purchased at the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleau near Paris on Sunday for 1.932 million euros. According to Osenat, this is a world record for a ruler’s hat, as the auction house announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Among the items offered by a collector was a lock of the emperor’s hair and a handkerchief. Gloves and a shirt that Napoleon is said to have worn on the island of Saint Helena were also offered.
In France there is still a certain admiration for the former ruler Napoleon. For some he is considered a reformer and founder of important institutions. However, critics accuse him of authoritarian rule and the restoration of slavery in the colonies in 1802.
Born in Corsica, he died in exile on the Atlantic island of Saint Helena in 1821 at the age of 51.