- Italy begins migrant transfers to Albania with first group of 16
- Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos
- Carsley open to foreign England manager amid Guardiola links
- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
- Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
- England ready for Pakistan's spin assault in second Test
- New Zealand's Ravindra excited for India Tests with father in crowd
- India's capital bans fireworks to curb air pollution
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- FIFA to open 'global dialogue' on transfer system after Diarra ruling
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Starmer vows to cut red tape as he urges foreign investors to 'back' UK
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- 'Not viable': Barcelona turns against surging tourism
- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli naval base after deadly drone strike
- Rice praises 'unbelievable' England interim boss Carsley despite uncertainty
- Nepali teenager hailed as hero after climbing world's 8,000m peaks
- England captain Stokes back from injury for second Pakistan Test
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone flights anger North
- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
CMSC | 0.12% | 24.739 | $ | |
RBGPF | 2.84% | 61.23 | $ | |
BCC | 0.72% | 143.4 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.12% | 24.98 | $ | |
JRI | -0.34% | 13.205 | $ | |
RIO | 0.53% | 67.585 | $ | |
SCS | 0.31% | 12.95 | $ | |
NGG | 0.98% | 66.895 | $ | |
BCE | -1.6% | 32.5 | $ | |
GSK | 0.74% | 39.121 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.43% | 7.03 | $ | |
RELX | 1.09% | 47.345 | $ | |
BTI | 0.78% | 35.455 | $ | |
AZN | 1.03% | 78.155 | $ | |
VOD | 0.26% | 9.675 | $ | |
BP | -0.53% | 31.94 | $ |
Napoleon's hat sells for record 1.9 mn euros in French auction
A hat belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was French emperor sold for a record of nearly two million euros at a French auction on Sunday, the auction house said.
It went for 1.932 million euros ($2.1 million), breaking the previous record for a Napoleonic hat, held by the same auction house, of 1.884 million euros in 2014.
The hat, known as a bicorne, is in Napoleon's trademark colours -- black, with the French flag's colours blue-white-red as insignia -- and attracted collectors "from the world over" auctioneers Osenat said, declining to give the identity or nationality of the eventual buyer.
It was last owned by businessman Jean-Louis Noisiez who died last year.
The final price was more than double the estimate of 600,000 to 800,000 euros, and nearly four times the reserve price, the auction house based in Fontainebleau south of Paris said.
Napoleon is believed to have owned around 120 such hats in total, most of which are now lost.
"The hat in itself represented the emperor's image," auction house expert Jean-Pierre Osenat told AFP ahead of the sale.
Napoleon wore this particular hat towards the middle of his time as emperor which lasted from 1808 to 1815, according to the auction house.
Unlike most other people at the time, Napoleon wore his hat sideways, which gave him a distinct silhouette easily recognised by his troops in battle.
Napoleon rose to prominence during the French Revolution, becoming a key figure in the revolutionary wars.
He served the republic as first consul, and had himself crowned as emperor in 1804.
He was exiled in 1815 after losing the battle against British and Prussian forces at Waterloo.
He died in 1821 on the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sunday's hat sale comes only days before a biopic on Napoleon reaches cinemas worldwide.
The film, by Ridley Scott, features massive-scale battles across Europe but also portrays his complex relationship with his wife Josephine.
Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Napoleon in the movie, said of the late emperor that he was "socially awkward", but also a "romantic".
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN