One of Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous bicorn hats, this black one with a rosette in the colors of the French flag (red, white and blue), sold for almost two million euros at an auction in Paris.
The hat was expected to be auctioned for between 600 and 800 thousand euros. However, the auction coincides with the release month of the biographical film “Napoleon”, starring Joaquin Phoenix, and, perhaps, for that reason, The sale reached 1.9 million eurossays a spokesperson for the auction house Druout, quoted by The Guardian.
The price reached reaches a new high surpassing the 1.8 million euros paid for another Napoleon hat in 2014.
One of the great things that distinguished Bonaparte was the way he wore his hat. From the side and with the tips parallel to the shoulders, this is how French troops identified the former French military leader on the battlefield. The style eventually became known as “in battle“.
The auctioned item is one of 20 remaining of the 120 hats worn by Napoleon during his lifetime. Most of the French emperor’s bicorn hats that still exist are in museums or private collections.
Source: TSF
