26-06-2025
A collection of Napoleon memorabilia, including one of his iconic bicorne hats, sells for $10M
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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 euros, coming close to a new record price for a Napoleonic artefact.