Napoleon collection sells at auction for US$10 million

A Napoleon hat is on display in an exhibition of Napoleon's belongings created by French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac at the Sotheby's auction house in Paris Thursday, June 19, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris, France -- A massive trove of artwork and curios linked to Napoleon Bonaparte, including one of his iconic bicorne hats, has sold for more than US$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 19th-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 euros, coming close to a new record price for a Napoleonic artifact.