A bicorne hat, believed to have once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, set a new record by selling for 1,932,000 euros ($2.11 million) at the Drouot auction house in Paris on Sunday.
Initially valued between 600,000 and 800,000 euros, the final price surpassed the 2014 record of 1,884,000 euros paid for another Napoleon hat at Drouot, according to an official from the auction house.
"One million four hundred fifty thousand (euros) to my left, 1.5 million, we have 1.5 million in the room, 1.5 million for Napoleon's hat. We're leaving it at 1.5 million for this major Napoleon symbol, I'm selling for 1.5 million (before fees), no regrets, sold," auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat said as he brought down the hammer to applause, reported news agency Reuters.
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Moreover, Osenat explained to Reuters that the black beaver felt hat, in the traditional bicorne shape, was a distinctive trademark of Napoleon, who had owned about 120 such hats throughout his life.
"The hat was part of the image he constructed, as Napoleon was a man of communication," Osenat said, adding that Napoleon always wore the hat with the corners aligned with his shoulders, while most people at the time wore it with the corners front to back.
Hats believed to be associated with Napoleon frequently appear at auctions, with a notable instance in October 2021 when a newly discovered hat, supported by DNA evidence confirming its connection to Napoleon, was auctioned by Bonhams in London.
