5 most valuable pieces of Napoleon memorabilia

Napoleon Bonaparte memorabilia hit the headlines in November 2023 when a simple black hat worn by the French emperor sold for over $2 million.

Napoleon died 203 years ago.

Yet, he can still be summoned to mind with just a silhouette - there's that hat.

He is one of the few historical figures for whom a first-name is enough.

And he has a style of politics named for him.

Bad times: Napoleon's story has ups and downs, it's very human.

He’s a big figure in every way. Even the perception that he was of small physical stature (really he was of average height) was probably the result of British propaganda against a man genuinely feared by the biggest Empire in world history.

He’s a tick in the column for the supporters of the Great Man theory of history.

And highly sought after in auction rooms.

France is the place to buy and sell Bonaparte memorabilia for the best prices.

But, he’s such an internationally known legend that items linked with him are auctioned around the world.

Here are some auction room realisations that show Napoleon Bonaparte memorabilia is still a hot property in 2024.

1 - Napoleon’s Sword for £5.2 million

Worn in battle, this sword saw action in Egypt and Europe.

Napoleon was no armchair general. Sure, he was one of history’s greatest strategists, but true to the spirit of the revolutionary French army in which he cut his teeth he worked his way up. His personal courage in battle - several horses were shot out from under him - was well attested.

This sword - magnificently opulent though it is - is a practical weapon.

Reportedly worn as he rampaged through Egypt and at the Battle of Marengo (which drove the Austrians out of Italy and secured Napoleon’s place at the head of the French nation) the hammer went down at $6.5 million in 2007.

2 - A classic Napoleon hat for £1.7 million

See one of these and you know Europe's greatest general is on the field.

The slightly hunched figure, often with a rounded stomach, is completed with the bicorn hat.

That’s the silhouette that brings l’Empereur immediately to mind. An image that’s still being exploited by filmmakers in the 2020s.

Napoleon was probably aware of this himself, and apparently went through large numbers of his trademark hat - worn sideways.

At meetings he always had one in his hand, ready to punctuate a point with it.

In battle, he knew that his appearance on the field was worth thousands of men, and the hat proved it was him.

In November 2023 one made 1.9 million euros, around £1.7 million at auction in Fontainebleau.

In 2014 an example that was probably worn at Waterloo made $2.4 million (about £1.5 million) when a Korean buyer bought it.

That hat was sold by Monaco's royal family and was in great condition. A Dutch soldier, Captain Baron Arnout Jacques van Zuijlen van Nijevelt, found it after the killing at Waterloo was over.

It's believed Napoleon had around 120 hats made, of which 20 are probably still around, with just four or five outside museum or public collections.

3 - The Sevres porcelain Service £1.45 million

Napoleon liked the finer things in life. Image courtesy Christie's/

This item would be enormously valuable in its own right.

It came to auction via the Rockerfeller family, who owned it for two generations.

Napoleon loved it so much that he took it into exile with him on Elba.

The 22-piece Sevres “Marly Rouge” table service went sailing 6 times over its estimate to come up just shy of $2 million dollars at auction in 2018.

It’s an extremely pretty and delicate style for a man who led one of European history’s most efficient military machines.

4 - The engagement ring for £630,000

Josephine is still associated with Napoleon, though their marriage only lasted a few years.

The extent to which Josephine features in the British imagining of Napoleon has a little to do with wartime propaganda against him.

But, it’s a reflection of a sort of truth that has become remembered in the popular imagination as one of the great love stories of history.

Their relationship was genuinely passionate and tempestuous.

Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie became Josephine Bonaparte - her second wedding - in 1796. She was later crowned Queen of Italy as her husband went on to become Emperor of France.

Incredibly, the ring went to auction in 2013 with an estimate of £13,000.

It was a very tasteful and relatively low-key piece of jewellery, with a tear-shaped diamond and sapphire in a gold band.

Bidding every bit as frenzied as any imperial lover's tiff sent the price rocketing to over £600,000.

Their stormy relationship has also supplied a good number of extremely valuable letters to the collectibles world.

5 - The Imperial Throne for £430,000

Napoleon had a very modern understanding of propaganda and image control. Image courtesy Osenat.

A throne is quite a thing to sell.

In 2019, the French auction house Osenat sold a Napoleonic Imperial Throne for €500,000.

While this incredible seat is not what most of us picture as a ceremonial throne it’s undoubtedly a masterpiece of furniture making and of Napoleonic myth making .

The emperor had one of these in all his seats of power.

It’s heavy with imperial imagery - chiefly the letter N and echos of Ancient Rome - and designed to inspire awe.

One of history’s greatest legends

These items only touch the surface of Napoleon’s appeal to buyers and his value at auction.

An item like the La Régente pearl for example is hugely valuable in its own right (and excluded here for that reason). But it’s surely the Napoleon connection (he gave it to Marie-Louise, who replaced Josephine as his wife) that pushed its price up to around £2.5 million at auction in 2005.

Likewise, the Sèvres "table des Palais Royaux" that Napoleon never saw completed. It’s an extraordinary work of art, but would it be worth the nearly £5 million it realised in 2007? I doubt it.

Hats sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Swords for around the same price. Letters between Napoleon and Josephine have a huge premium, commonly going for hundreds of thousands of pounds. A death mask made around £250,000.