Napoleon Bonaparte's Hat Sells for $2.1 Million at Paris Auction

The hat of former French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte has been sold for $2.1 million at a Paris auction to an anonymous buyer.

The black beaver hat was the star of a sale of memorabilia of the former French emperor and it was only expected to fetch somewhere between $655,000 to $873,000. During Napoleon's life, he wore more than a hundred uniquely shaped bicorne hats.

Napoleon Bonaparte's Hat Sells for $2.1 Million

(Photo : THOMAS COEX / AFP) (THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)
A Paris auction sold off one of former French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's bicorne hats for $2.1 millon to an anonymous buyer.

A French industrialist spent more than five decades trying to assemble the collection before he lost his life last year. There were also other exceptional items on sale at the Paris auction, including Jean-Louis Noisiez's collection that featured a silver plate looted from Napoleon's carriage after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

A vanity case that Napoleon owned was also on sale at the auction, which included razors, a silver toothbrush, scissors, and other personal belongings. The sale comes as a new film known as "Napoleon" directed by Ridley Scott is opening in cinemas across Europe this week, as per EuroNews.

The latest sale surpassed the price that another one of Napoleon's hats was priced at in 2014 and was sold by the Drouot auction house. The hat that was sold in Paris is one of the 20 remaining of the 120 that the former French military commander was believed to have owned throughout his lifetime.

The massive price of the latest sale was believed to have been inflated by the hype that surrounds the release of the movie about the former French emperor. The film stars popular Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix.

During his time, Napoleon was known to wear his hats sideways to ensure that he was distinguishable on the battlefield. This led to the creation of one of the most recognizable brands in history, which has endured even after his death more than two centuries ago.

The points or "corns" of the hats were placed parallel to the former French commander's shoulders. This was a style that was referred to as "en bataille," which comes in contrast to the majority of his officers. They instead wore theirs at right angles to their shoulders, according to The Guardian.

Former French Emperor's Bicornes

The Drouot auction house's Pierre Osenat said that Napoleon was also distinguishable by a "cockade." This was a cluster of ribbons of distinctive colors that the commander reportedly added himself in 1815 when he traveled across the Mediterranean to Antibes from his exile in Elba.

Osenat said that the majority of the remaining Napoleon bicornes that still exist are kept inside museums and roughly five are stored in private collections. The provenance of the bicorne hat was mainly due to remaining in the possession of the same family throughout the 19th century.

Napoleon first came into prominence during the French Revolution and became a key figure in the Revolutionary Wars. He also served as first consul and had himself crowned emperor in 1804. In 1821, the former French commander died on the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, said Aljazeera.