Napoleon collection sells at auction for $10 mn
Sotheby's said it had originally estimated the more than 110 items of Napoleonic memorabilia that it sold on Wednesday at around $7 million.
Famous paintings of the 19th-century French emperor, gilded imperial furniture and a copy of the marriage certificate between Napoleon and his wife Josephine were among the items up for auction.
Relics linked to Napoleon regularly come up for sale at auction in France in a flourishing trade marked by intense interest from collectors.
The vast collection also included Napoleon's first will written while in exile on the Atlantic island of Saint Helena, and the sword and staff used for his coronation at Paris' famed Notre Dame Cathedral in 1804.
Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena in 1815 after his defeat by the British at the Battle of Waterloo. He died there six years later.
French collector Pierre-Jean Chalencon, a former star of a French antiques television show who dubs himself "Napoleon's press officer", assembled the collection over four decades.
Born in a Parisian suburb, Chalencon started his collection at the age of 13 and accumulated more than 1,000 objects, including a coronation ring and a piece of the emperor's coffin.
At a different Parisian auction in late May, one of Napoleon's sabres sold for 4.6 million euros, coming close to a new record price for a Napoleonic artefact.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
French word of the Day: Gratin
Why do I need to know gratin? So that you don't get confused when you hear people described as an oven-baked dish. What does it mean? A gratin is a culinary speciality usually consisting of potatoes or pasta which are topped with breadcrumbs and grated cheese and baked in the oven. Interestingly, it's also a word used to talk about social elites. Le gratin are the people at the very top of the social hierarchy, or the very peak of their profession. Advertisement In English, we might similarly use the word 'upper-crust' or the phrase 'cream of the crop' to talk about those in the highest social and professional circles. Le gratin are not necessarily rich (although they usually are), they're people who are judged to be in some way 'the best' - the most common use is social, to refer to posh/aristocratic people, but it can be used to describe people who are at the top of a certain profession or group. You might also use hear the phrase faire gratin , which is used to refer to someone who is 'putting on airs', trying to appear chic or upper-class. Use it like this Tout le gratin sera là - Everybody who's anybody will be there. C'est le lieu incontournable de tout le gratin parisien - It's the number-one hotspot for all the Parisian upper crust. Si le gratin aime notre produit, le succès est assuré - If the cream of the crop like our product, success is guaranteed. Synonyms La crème de la crème - the cream of the crop
Local France
18 hours ago
- Local France
French word of the day: Huppé
Why do I need to know huppé? Because it's an extremely specific description. What does it mean? Huppé - pronounced oo-pay - can refer to a bird that has a huppe (puff of feathers) on its head, but its more widely-used meaning is 'posh', 'well-to-do' or 'upper crust'. Whether there is a link between being posh and that feathery crown some birds are equipped with is not really clear. But the image can be helpful for remembering the meaning of huppé , if you think about those huge, feathery hats upper-class women used to wear back in the day. Huppé implies more than simply having a lot of money. French dictionary Larousse defines huppé as someone who both is rich and comes from a high social class. But it can also be a thing or a place. An expensive and extravagant restaurant is huppé, a wealthy part of Paris as well (like 'swanky' in English). Huppé is an adjective, so you say une personne huppée (a posh person), des gens huppés (posh people), un endroit huppé (a posh place). Advertisement Use it like this Ils vont toujours dans des restaurants huppés, ce n'est pas trop mon genre. - They always go to fancy restaurants, it's not really my style. Elle fait partie de la famille la plus huppée de la ville. Si tu avais vu leur maison. . - She's part of the poshest family in town. If you'd seen their house.. Nos bureaux sont dans un quartier assez huppé, mais il y en a quelques endroits très sympatiques pour déjeuner . - Our offices are in a pretty chic area, but there are a few quite nice places to have lunch. Synonyms Cossu - well-to-do Aisé - well-to-do Privilégié - privileged A more casual term for the 'upper crust' of society in France - people who are posh/aristocratic - is le gratin . It comes from food, naturally, with the gratin being the grilled crust on top of a dish.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
'We must help them': Morocco students get peers back in school
"We must help them come back," said Rifai, who goes to middle school in Tiflet, a town east of the capital Rabat, and has already helped several of his friends back to school as part of a national youth-led effort. To tackle the problem, which educators and officials warn exacerbates social inequalities and drives poverty, Moroccan authorities offer dropouts a chance back in with support from fellow students. One of Rifai's classmates, Doha El Ghazouli, who is also 15, said that together they had helped several friends return to school "before they abandoned their future". Huda Enebcha, 16, told AFP how she and her friend Ghazouli managed to convince a neighbour to resume her studies. "We helped her review the most difficult subjects, and we showed her videos of some school activities", said Enebcha. "She finally agreed after a lot of effort." To ease the transition back into the education system, the "second chance school" scheme offers some teenagers vocational training alongside remedial classes, with an emphasis on giving former dropouts agency and choice. Hssain Oujour, who leads the national programme, said 70 percent of the teenagers enrolled in it have taken up vocational training that could help them enter the labour force, with another 20 percent returning to the traditional school system. Across Morocco, a country of 37 million people, classrooms are often overcrowded, and the public education system is generally viewed as inferior to private institutions, which charge fees that can be prohibitive for many families. 'Lend a hand' Around 250 million children worldwide lack basic literacy skills, and in Morocco, nearly one in four inhabitants -- around nine million people -- are illiterate, according to the UN children's agency UNICEF. Dropout rates tend to be higher in rural and impoverished areas, said Said Tamouh, the principal of the Jawhara School in Tiflet that the students interviewed by AFP attend. An NGO-run "second chance school" nearby has some 110 students, who can sign up for art classes, hairdressing training or classical Arabic language courses. Sanae Sami, 17, who took up a make-up class, said she was "truly" given another shot at pursuing education. "When you leave school, there's nothing for you," she said. "That's why I decided to come back, especially thanks to the teachers at this centre." Hafida El Fakir, who heads the Salam association which runs the school, said that "support and guidance" were key in helping students "succeed and go far". Amine Othmane, a student who had re-entered the system last year with encouragement from his friends, is now helping others. To convince dropouts, he said, "they first have to regret leaving and want to return". Back in school, 18-year-old Aya Benzaki now hopes to achieve her dream of graduating with a diploma, and Jihane Errafii, 17, said she was grateful for the friends who had supported her journey. "I just needed someone to lend me a hand." © 2025 AFP
