INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A hat that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte set a new record by selling for almost two million euros at a Paris auction on Sunday, the
auction house said.The hat sold for 1.932 million euros breaking an earlier record for a Napoleonic hat, held by the auction house, of 1.884
insignia.The auction attracted collectors "from the world over" auctioneer Osenat said without giving the identity or nationality of the
buyer.The hat was previously owned by businessman Jean-Louis Noisiez, who passed away 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 approximately 120 such hats, but most of them are now lost."The hat in itself represented the
emperor's image," auction house expert Jean-Pierre Osenat said."People recognised this hat everywhere
When they saw it on the battlefields, they knew Napoleon was there."And when in private, he always had it on his head or he had it in his
hand, and sometimes he threw it on the ground
That was the image - the symbol of the emperor," BBC quoted Osenat as saying.Napoleon wore this specific hat during the middle of his reign
as emperor, which spanned from 1808 to 1815, according to the auction house.Napoleon wore his hat tilted sideways, setting him apart from
others of his time and making him easily recognizable by his troops during battles.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".
