A sword once owned by Napoleon will be auctioned on May 22 at Hôtel Drouot in Paris. Estimated between €700,000 and €1 million, the piece has been kept by the descendants of Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy.
A sword once belonging to Napoleon, "commissioned for his personal use" in 1802 and preserved throughout his reign, will take center stage at an auction on May 22 at Hôtel Drouot in Paris.
The piece, presented by the Giquello auction house, is valued between €700,000 and €1 million.
"Bonaparte, then First Consul, ordered the sword between 1802 and 1803 from Nicolas-Noël Boutet, director of the Versailles Manufactory and considered the greatest gunsmith of his time," Hôtel Drouot stated in a press release on Friday.
After becoming Emperor, Napoleon "kept the sword until the end of his reign before gifting it to Emmanuel de Grouchy," one of his loyal followers who would later be made the last Marshal of the Empire, the statement added.
"Preserved by the marshal’s descendants since 1815, the sword will be offered at public auction for the very first time," it continued.
A second, identical sword commissioned by Napoleon is currently held at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Napoleonic memorabilia continues to thrive at auction, more than two centuries after the death of the "Emperor of the French," who died in exile in 1821 at the age of 51 after having dominated Europe.
Two pistols owned by Napoleon until his first abdication in 1814, classified as "national treasures," were sold at auction for €1.69 million (including fees) in July 2024.
In March, a copy of the Civil Code that belonged to Napoleon—who championed the creation of a unified set of laws in early 19th-century France—sold for €395,000.
With AFP
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