Napoleon’s hat sells for record US$2.1 million at French auction

The hat broke the previous record of €1.884 million for a Napoleonic hat, bought by a South Korean businessman at the same auction house in 2014

Auctioneers Osenat did not give the identity of the buyer. The hat belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was French emperor in the early 19th century

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Staff at Osenat’s auction house in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, remove the protective case of one of the signature broad, black hats that Napoleon Bonaparte wore when he ruled 19th-century France and waged war in Europe. Photo: AP

Published: 12:42am, 20 Nov 2023Updated: 12:44am, 20 Nov 2023

A hat belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was French emperor sold for a record of nearly €2 million at a French auction on Sunday, the auction house said.

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

The hat, known as a bicorne, is in Napoleon’s trademark colours – black, with the French flag’s blue-white-red colours 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.

One of the signature broad, black hats that Napoleon wore when he ruled 19th century France on display at Osenat’s auction house in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, France on Friday. Photo: AP

Other Napoleon memorabilia from the Noisiez collection also went on the block at the auction house in Fontainebleau, near Paris, including a Legion of Honour medal and a pair of silver spurs owned by Napoleon.