Napoleon Bonaparte's signature hat was sold for an astonishing $2.1 Million in an auction in Fontainebleau at Paris, beating a previous record sale for a Napoleonic hat of $2.06 Million in 2014.
The iconic felt hat was part of a Napoleonic collection that once belonged to the late French industrialist Jean Louis Noisiez, with other pieces from the collection also sold in the auction.
The centerpiece of the auction stirred a bidding frenzy once it was presented and the hat's value immediately launched skywards from an estimated €600,000 to €800,000, or around $650,000 to $870,000, to a winning bid of over twofold its original price which is valued at €1.9 Million or $2.1 Million in total price.
A black bicorne hat with red, white and blue cockade worn by the French Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821), from the Collection Jean Louis Noisiez, is displayed before an auction sale at Osenat auction house in Paris on November 6, 2023
Napoleon's Famous Hat and its History
The bicorne hat that once belonged to Bonaparte was reportedly 1 of 16 that remained from a total of about 120 versions, according to the Osenat auction house in charge of selling the piece.
In terms of its make, it was fashioned from black beaver felt and is adorned with a three-colored cockade, otherwise known as a military rosette. Its most distinctive feature was its two downward-pointing endpoints dubbed as "en bataille" or "in battle." This unique element also served as an identifier for the French emperor, especially during a battle.
"People recognized his hat everywhere. That was the image, the symbol of the emperor," auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat said in a statement before the auction.
A black bicorne hat with red, white and blue cockade worn by the French Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821), from the Collection Jean Louis Noisiez, is displayed before an auction sale at Osenat auction house in Paris on November 6, 2023.
The headpiece was recovered by Col. Pierre Baillon, a quartermaster who served under Bonaparte, before ending up in the hands of the Noisiez. The collector then spent over five decades gathering his Napoleonic memorabilia collection which includes firearms, swords, and even coins.
The auction house refrained from disclosing the identity of the winning buyer, maintaining a mysterious air to the sale of the famous bicorne hat. Fittingly, the sale occurred just days before Ridley Scott's movie "Napoleon," starring Joaquin Phoenix, hit the cinemas starting Nov. 22.
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