Napoleon's Famous Hat Sold for 2.7 Billion Won... Movie Release Premium Evident

Harim Chairman's 2.6 Billion Won Winning Bid in 2014
Attributed to Anticipation of 'Napoleon' Movie Release

The bicorne (two-cornered, double-horned) hat worn by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769?1821) was sold at an auction in France for 1,932,000 euros (approximately 2.732 billion KRW).

Napoleon Bonaparte. [Image source=Pixabay]

According to foreign media including the AP news agency on the 19th (local time), the auction held in Fontainebleau, on the outskirts of Paris, featured a black felt hat with pointed sides. This hat passed through the hands of several people, including Colonel Pierre Baylon, a supply officer, and was owned by the late businessman Jean-Louis Nouaizis, who died last year.

The identity of the person who won the bid for the hat was not disclosed.

The auction house Osenna Auction explained, "This auction price surpassed the previous record high of 1,884,000 euros (approximately 2.665 billion KRW) set in 2014."

At that time, the hat was purchased by Kim Heung-guk, chairman of Harim.

Jean-Pierre Osenna, head of the auction house, explained that Napoleon owned about 120 hats, and the black beaver felt hat was his trademark. However, it is known that only about 20 of these hats remain, most of which are privately owned.

The black beaver felt bicorne hat worn by Napoleon Bonaparte.
[Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]

Unlike other officers who wore their hats perpendicular to their shoulders on the battlefield, Napoleon wore his hat with the brim facing both shoulders. Thanks to this hat style, called 'en bataille' (in battle), soldiers could easily identify Napoleon. Some historians even describe this hat as his 'brand.'

Foreign media reported that this auction attracted attention to the 'controversial French ruler' ahead of the release of the film Napoleon, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Joaquin Phoenix. Some speculate that because of the film's release, the hat sold for three times the initially expected price of 600,000 to 800,000 euros.

Meanwhile, the auction also featured a silver nameplate looted from Napoleon’s carriage after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, as well as a wooden portable cosmetics case owned by Napoleon, including a razor, silver toothbrush, scissors, and more.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.