Current:Home > FinanceNapoleon's bicorne hat sold at auction for a history-making price -Blueprint Wealth Network
Napoleon's bicorne hat sold at auction for a history-making price
View
Date:2025-04-26 00:11:15
Napoleon Bonaparte's iconic hat sold at auction Sunday, fetching a history-making $2.1 million. While French auction house Osenat expected the hat to go for up to $875,328, it far surpassed that amount – and the previous record holder, a Napoleon hat sold at the same auction house for about $2 million in 2014, according to AFP.
Napoleon was a French general who was key to the French Revolution and then overthrew the French government, and ultimately becoming the emperor of France. The felt hat with its emblem the colors of the French flag – red, white and blue – dates back to the 1800s, according to Osenat.
His hat was later owned by Colonel Pierre Baillon, a military officer, who kept it in his family until the 19th century when his grandson sold it. Antiques dealer Charles Meyer sold the hat to Jean Brunon in 1928 and it was passed down in his family.
"Our hat was used by Emperor Napoleon I in the middle of the Empire during the period when Baillon was assigned to the Emperor's Palace (1806-1815)," the description on the Osenat website reads. Napoleon wore the hat as he returned from the island of Elba in 1815. Napoleon, who was exiled to the island in 1814, escaped and returned to France a year later, becoming emperor again.
Napoleon was known for wearing hats like this – often cocked to the side, according to BBC News.
In a video about the hat ahead of the sale, auctioneer Jean Pierre Osenat said Napoleon owned about 120, but only about 16 remain, mainly in private collections.
Pierre said this particular hat "had been through many events" and symbolized Napoleon's "history of 15 years that revolutionized France and changed the world."
He said the image of Napoleon wearing this type of hat – sideways, unlike everyone else – is "the image we have in mind when we think about Napoleon's world."
CBS News has reached out to Osenat for further information and is awaiting response.
Caitlin O'KaneCaitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
veryGood! (69896)
Related
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Oregon award-winning chef Naomi Pomeroy drowns in river accident
- Let This Be Your Super Guide to Chris Pratt’s Family
- Athletics’ temporary Sacramento ballpark will have hydration element because of summer heat
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Builders Legacy Advance Investment Education Foundation: The critical tax-exempt status of 501(c)(3) organizations
- The Daily Money: Meta lifts Trump restrictions
- More than 2 dozen human skeletons dating back more than 1,000 years found in hotel garden
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Sen. Ron Johnson says he read wrong version of speech at Republican National Convention
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- In a media world that loves sharp lines, discussions of the Trump shooting follow a predictable path
- Get 46% Off the Viral Revlon Heated Brush That Dries and Styles Hair at the Same Time
- California gender-identity law elicits praise from LGBTQ+ advocates, backlash from parent groups
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Horoscopes Today, July 16, 2024
- Alicia Keys Shares Her Beauty Rituals, Skincare Struggles, and Can’t-Miss Amazon Prime Day 2024 Deals
- Neo-Nazi ‘Maniac Murder Cult’ leader plotted to hand out poisoned candy to Jewish kids in New York
Recommendation
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Horoscopes Today, July 16, 2024
Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
Horoscopes Today, July 16, 2024
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
Donald Trump is the most prominent politician to link immigrants and crime but not the first
Horoscopes Today, July 16, 2024
Paul Skenes, Livvy Dunne arrive at 2024 MLB All-Star Game red carpet in style