Napoleon Bonaparte’s renowned black hat went for more than $2 million on Sunday at an auction in France.
Napoleon’s signature two-cornered military uniform hats sold for a record €1.932 million ($2.1 million). It is estimated that the French emperor owned roughly 120 variations of the bicorn headdress.
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The hat was auctioned by the Fontainebleau-based Osenat auction house, which states that there are currently only about 16 in existence. Due to their historical significance, most of them are kept in museums.
The hat was a part of the French entrepreneur Jean Louis Noisiez’s collection that was put up for auction on Sunday.
Crafted from black beaver felt, it features a tricolor cockade, sometimes known as a military rosette, as decoration.
The hat, which sold for over twice its initial estimate, was reportedly fashioned by a furrier at the emperor’s palace, according to its online listing.
This specific hat is thought to have been worn by Napoleon toward the middle of his reign. When he returned to France in 1815 after being exiled to Elba, he fastened the cockade on his hat.
Prior to the auction, auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat remarked, “People recognized his hat everywhere.” He told Reuters that although most people in the period wore their hats with the corners facing front to back, Napoleon always wore his with the corners aligned with his shoulders.
Napoleon’s presence on the battlefield was confirmed by the fact that, when he was in private, he would always carry it about in his hands, on his head, or occasionally flung it to the ground. He stated, “That was the emperor’s picture, his symbol.
A different iteration of the hat brought in over $400,000 in a Lyon, France, auction in 2018. Napoleon always wore 12 hats, each of which had a three-year lifespan, according to the De Baecque auction house, which organized the sale.
Napoleon, who fought battles against several of the then-existing European nations, established himself as the emperor of France in 1804, leaving a lasting impression on the nation.
He abdicated a second time and was banished to the isolated island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic following his defeat by the British at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He passed away there in 1821.
Napoleon’s vanity set, replete with a toothbrush and razor, and a handkerchief he used on St. Helena during his illness were among the other objects up for auction.
The sale coincides with this week’s big-screen premiere of Ridley Scott’s epic film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the small emperor.
