Napoleon's Hat Sells for Record Sum at French Auction

A hat belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was French emperor sold for a record of nearly two million euros at a French auction on Sunday, the auction house said.

It went for 1.932 million euros ($2.1 million) — breaking the previous record for a Napoleonic hat, held by the same auction house, of 1.884 million euros in 2014 shelled out by a South Korean businessman.

The hat, known as a bicorne, is in Napoleon's trademark colors — black, with the French flag's colors blue-white-red as insignia — and attracted interest from collectors "the world over", auctioneers Osenat said, declining to give the identity or nationality of the eventual buyer.

It was last owned by businessman Jean-Louis Noisiez, who died last year.

Other Napoleon memorabilia from the Noisiez collection also went on the block, including a Legion of Honor medal and a pair of silver spurs owned by Napoleon.

The final price for the hat, including all charges, was more than double the estimate of 600,000 to 800,000 euros, and nearly four times the reserve price, the auction house based in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, said.

Napoleon is believed to have owned around 120 such hats in total over 15 years, most of which are now lost.

"The hat in itself represented the emperor's image," auction house expert Jean-Pierre Osenat told AFP ahead of the sale.