A sword once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte went for nearly €4.7 million on Thursday evening in Paris, after coming close to setting a world record for a Napoleonic artefact sold at auction, according to the Hôtel Drouot.
This personal weapon, commissioned by Napoleon himself, fetched €4.66 million, including fees, according to the Hôtel Drouot, where the auction was held by the Giquello auction house.
Estimated originally between €700,000 and €1 million, the sword nearly matched the world record of €4.8 million, set in 2007 by the sabre the late French emperor used at the Battle of Marengo, and joined the exclusive group of the most valuable Napoleonic artefacts ever auctioned.
Napoleon, then First Consul, commissioned this sword between 1802 and 1803 from Nicolas-Noël Boutet, director of Versailles Manufacture, who was known as the greatest gunsmith of his time.
After rising to the position of emperor, Napoleon I kept the sword until the end of his reign before giving it to Emmanuel de Grouchy, a loyal marshal of the Empire.
The prestigious sword has since remained with Marshal Grouchy’s descendants.
A second identical sword, also commissioned by Napoleon, is housed in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
