Napoleon collection sells at auction for $10m
A massive trove of artwork and curios linked to Napoleon Bonaparte, including one of his iconic bicorne hats, has sold for more than $10 million in Paris, an auction house said.
Sotheby's said it had originally estimated the more than 110 items of Napoleonic memorabilia that it sold on Wednesday at around $7 million.
Famous paintings of the 19 th -century French emperor, gilded imperial furniture and a copy of the marriage certificate between Napoleon and his wife Josephine were among the items up for auction.
Relics linked to Napoleon regularly come up for sale at auction in France in a flourishing trade marked by intense interest from collectors. The vast collection also included Napoleon's first will written while in exile on the Atlantic island of Saint Helena, and the sword and staff used for his coronation at Paris' famed Notre Dame Cathedral in 1804.
Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena in 1815 after his defeat by the British at the Battle of Waterloo. He died there six years later.
French collector Pierre-Jean Chalencon, a former star of a French antiques television show who dubs himself "Napoleon's press officer," assembled the collection over four decades.
Born in a Parisian suburb, Chalencon started his collection at the age of 13 and accumulated more than 1,000 objects, including a coronation ring and a piece of the emperor's coffin.
At a different Parisian auction in late May, one of Napoleon's sabres sold for €4.6 million, coming close to a new record price for a Napoleonic artefact.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
4 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Hermès: Summer in the city
"Hot town, summer in the city," were the lyrics to B.B. King's greatest classic, and the leitmotif of an insouciantly chic Hermès collection staged on a steamy Saturday in Paris. See catwalk Presented inside the Conseil de Surveillance, a temple to French 1930s Rationalist architecture, a beautiful building sadly devoid of air conditioning. So much so, the cast looked the coolest people – literally and figuratively – at this show. An airy collection, where trousers were made of leather lattice material, and cardigans in knitted leather. Half the shirts had openings, inserts or little fabric windows, 'latticed with light and air,' in the words of Hermès designer, Véronique Nichanian. Lightness in leisure, with striking new proportions - wide pants and short jackets – and a huge sense of ease. 'It's about a guy being cool in the city, and the sense of the wind blowing through it,' added Nichanian. She opened with surgical smocks or Henleys – in second-skin calfskin, all worn with a new fringed foulard. Not a tie anywhere. Then played around with multifunctional garments – chemise jackets or safari/parkas. When she did work with exotic skins, she used them in hunters gilets. Her leather sandals full of slits; her flip flops were trimmed with rope. Over a dozen guys carried huge, big bags, totes, weekenders or sailor keep-alls. See catwalk 'I love a great big bag, since I am a tiny one,' laughed the diminutive, but always dynamic designer. Big deep bags made in canvas and leather, or finished in prints of show jumpers or a dancing monkey, 'just for fun, as we need a little more these days.' After last season, when she stunned Hermès veterans with a squadron of shorts, Nichanian this time abandoned them completely, just when every second menswear collection had multiple short pants options. She made it her much admired understated palette of putty, string, vanilla, dust and coffee, and produced in the finest fabrics available, there is no better statement of easy elegance in menswear today than Hermès. The opening lines of King's classic tune rhymes: 'Hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting' dirty and gritty.' Nothing could be further from that chez Hermès, thanks to these excellent clothes.
Fashion Network
4 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Paris: Juun.J revisits tailoring, Officine Générale lightens the wardrobe
Men's fashion presents a variety of facets. Between the wardrobe of the businessman and that of the artist, there are a myriad of nuances that can be introduced to create a wardrobe that is inventive, desirable, and yet practical and comfortable. This was demonstrated on Friday by the Parisian label Officine Générale and the South Korean label Juun.J, in two completely opposing styles, during the Paris Men's Fashion Week dedicated to Spring-Summer 2026. See catwalk This season, Pierre Mahéo welcomes guests to the rue Jules Chaplain, home to his label's headquarters, right next to the Mk2 Parnasse cinema, creating a friendly, summery atmosphere from the outset. The collection is aptly named "Pariviera", blending Officine Générale's typical Parisian style with a more relaxed, seaside touch. "It's a little geographical fantasy that I've tried to translate into clothing with a collection designed to cope with the heat," explained the entrepreneur-designer. A significant focus was placed on materials, ensuring they were as airy as possible to provide the garments with suppleness. Several outfits were crafted from poplin - a parachute-like fabric. Others used featherweight striped fabrics made from a blend of cotton, linen, and Tencel. Shirts and suits were offered in seersucker weighing just 110 grams per linear meter, offering an air-draped body sensation. Suede jackets and small leather jackets were naturally soft, while silk makes an elegant appearance for evening wear. The pajama-style shirt is worn almost like a jacket over a white T-shirt and drawstring pants. Mao-collar shirts were also gaining popularity. Jackets devoid of structure and lining are tied at the waist like a sweater, in tone-on-tone combinations with shirts and pants. The silhouettes were fluid, with garments cascading effortlessly without clinging to the body, merely grazing it. Everything exuded lightness and nonchalance in this wardrobe, characterized by a neutral palette, punctuated by nautical details, from sailor knits to windbreaker-collared shirts. Models casually walk down the street in flip-flops or comfortable leather slippers, with a scarf tied as a Keith Richards-style headband, and occasionally daring to wear a shell necklace. In a casual gesture, they tucked shirts into pants without buttoning them. A scoubidou cord woven from cotton strips serves as a belt. They rolled up their sleeves for a shorter look, and the hem of the pants is hastily rolled up. And so they set off for a stroll along the beach. See catwalk At Juun.J, garments were split and layered. All pants, for instance, were systematically supplemented with another model in a different fabric, draped along the right leg like a large side panel. Another approach was to unbutton the pants at the top on the side, allowing the waistband to fold down in the front, revealing another pair beneath. Leather pants or shorts were exposed under wool trousers; jeans appear beneath a business suit; rugged pants emerge beneath canvas trousers. As always, the Korean designer works with large volumes, but this season he's departing from his usual streetwear inspiration for a more sophisticated, almost couture-like approach. Suits were precisely tailored to create a silhouette inspired by the elegance of the 1940s, while subtly nodding to the power dressing of the nineties. Jackets boast pronounced shoulders before tapering at the waist, while pleated pants drape generously. The suit was paired with flip-flops. Conversely, summer shorts were teamed with loafers and knee-high socks. Occasionally, the Juun.J man ventured into bolder territories, donning a tuxedo jacket over a denim tank top, or adopting a sailor look with a striped knit featuring a boat neck, white cotton pants with black stripes, and a small wool hat. His wardrobe didn't lack a leather jacket, a nylon bomber, a military jacket, or canvas overalls. "I wanted to showcase the significant fashion and clothing errors made by both men and women. But also how these errors can transform into a very cool and unique form of fashion," explained designer Jung Wook Jun.
Fashion Network
4 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Paris: Juun.J revisits tailoring, Officine Générale lightens the wardrobe
Men's fashion presents a variety of facets. Between the wardrobe of the businessman and that of the artist, there are a myriad of nuances that can be introduced to create a wardrobe that is inventive, desirable, and yet practical and comfortable. This was demonstrated on Friday by the Parisian label Officine Générale and the South Korean label Juun.J, in two completely opposing styles, during the Paris Men's Fashion Week dedicated to Spring-Summer 2026. See catwalk This season, Pierre Mahéo welcomes guests to the rue Jules Chaplain, home to his label's headquarters, right next to the Mk2 Parnasse cinema, creating a friendly, summery atmosphere from the outset. The collection is aptly named "Pariviera", blending Officine Générale's typical Parisian style with a more relaxed, seaside touch. "It's a little geographical fantasy that I've tried to translate into clothing with a collection designed to cope with the heat," explained the entrepreneur-designer. A significant focus was placed on materials, ensuring they were as airy as possible to provide the garments with suppleness. Several outfits were crafted from poplin - a parachute-like fabric. Others used featherweight striped fabrics made from a blend of cotton, linen, and Tencel. Shirts and suits were offered in seersucker weighing just 110 grams per linear meter, offering an air-draped body sensation. Suede jackets and small leather jackets were naturally soft, while silk makes an elegant appearance for evening wear. The pajama-style shirt is worn almost like a jacket over a white T-shirt and drawstring pants. Mao-collar shirts were also gaining popularity. Jackets devoid of structure and lining are tied at the waist like a sweater, in tone-on-tone combinations with shirts and pants. The silhouettes were fluid, with garments cascading effortlessly without clinging to the body, merely grazing it. Everything exuded lightness and nonchalance in this wardrobe, characterized by a neutral palette, punctuated by nautical details, from sailor knits to windbreaker-collared shirts. Models casually walk down the street in flip-flops or comfortable leather slippers, with a scarf tied as a Keith Richards-style headband, and occasionally daring to wear a shell necklace. In a casual gesture, they tucked shirts into pants without buttoning them. A scoubidou cord woven from cotton strips serves as a belt. They rolled up their sleeves for a shorter look, and the hem of the pants is hastily rolled up. And so they set off for a stroll along the beach. See catwalk At Juun.J, garments were split and layered. All pants, for instance, were systematically supplemented with another model in a different fabric, draped along the right leg like a large side panel. Another approach was to unbutton the pants at the top on the side, allowing the waistband to fold down in the front, revealing another pair beneath. Leather pants or shorts were exposed under wool trousers; jeans appear beneath a business suit; rugged pants emerge beneath canvas trousers. As always, the Korean designer works with large volumes, but this season he's departing from his usual streetwear inspiration for a more sophisticated, almost couture-like approach. Suits were precisely tailored to create a silhouette inspired by the elegance of the 1940s, while subtly nodding to the power dressing of the nineties. Jackets boast pronounced shoulders before tapering at the waist, while pleated pants drape generously. The suit was paired with flip-flops. Conversely, summer shorts were teamed with loafers and knee-high socks. Occasionally, the Juun.J man ventured into bolder territories, donning a tuxedo jacket over a denim tank top, or adopting a sailor look with a striped knit featuring a boat neck, white cotton pants with black stripes, and a small wool hat. His wardrobe didn't lack a leather jacket, a nylon bomber, a military jacket, or canvas overalls. "I wanted to showcase the significant fashion and clothing errors made by both men and women. But also how these errors can transform into a very cool and unique form of fashion," explained designer Jung Wook Jun.
