PARIS (AP) — A faded and cracked felt hat worn by Napoléon Bonaparte fetched $1.6 million at an auction Sunday of the French emperor’s belongingsYes, $1.6 million.
It was the centerpiece of Sunday's auction in Fontainebleau of memorabilia collected by a French industrialist who died last year.
But the bidding quickly jumped higher and higher until Jean Pierre Osenat, president of the Osenat auction house, designated the winner.
Political Cartoons View All 1256 ImagesWhile other officers customarily wore their hats with the wings facing front to back, Napoléon wore his with the ends pointing toward his shoulders.
The entrepreneur spent more than a half-century assembling his collection of Napoleonic memorabilia, firearms, swords and coins before his death in 2022.
Persons:
Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoléon, Europe —, Jean Pierre Osenat, ‘, ”, —, Pierre Baillon, Jean, Louis Noisiez
Organizations:
PARIS
Locations:
France, Europe, Fontainebleau, French, bataille