Napoleon's hat fetches $2.1 million at auction
STORY: The total selling price, which includes auction fees, is a record for one of Napoleon's hat, auctioneer Jean Pierre Osenat of the Osenat auction house, said. The previous record was held by another one of the emperor's hats, also sold by Osenat in 2014 for $2.06 million (1.884 million euros).
The black beaver felt hat in traditional bicorne shape was a trademark of the emperor which came to symbolize Napoleon’s historical character. It was worn "en bataille", that is, with the corns parallel to shoulders, as opposed to most of his officers who wore their hats “en colonne”, that is, perpendicular to the shoulders.
It is said that he did so to be more visible to his troops.
The bicorne hat, together with the frock-coat, forged the myth of the soldier-emperor.
The model is adorned with a cockade that Napoleon fixed to his hat in 1815, during the crossing of the Mediterranean from his exile in Elba to Antibes, from where he lead a brief return to power.
