PARIS — A bicorn hat of Napoleon Bonaparte is up for auction and on display next to the chateau where the French general lived when he wasn’t leading troops into battle across Europe.
The black felt is a little weathered by age and use — though no one has worn it since Napoleon’s cavalry veterinarian, who apparently received it from him as a gift.
Auctioneers hope to fetch $623,000 for it. The hat is part of a Napoleonic collection belonging to Monaco’s royal family, which is distantly related to him.
In a note with the catalog, Prince Albert II said the family decided to sell items of the collection as part of the restoration of the palace.
Also for sale from the collection are dozens of medals, decorative keys, documents, a jeweled sword, a Russian caviar spoon, and a bronze eagle that once perched atop a battle flag, complete with bullet holes.
Jean-Pierre Osenat, head of the auction house in Fontainbleau, said 19 of Napoleon’s 120 hats have survived.