Napoleon Bonaparte - Silk Auction

On the 4th Dec 2010 a pair of silk briefs that Napoleon Bonaparte wore to keep him

warm during his post-Waterloo exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena were put up for auction at a Parisian Auction. Napoleon was well known for wearing silk, especially silk shirts.

The briefs are embroidered with an "N" monogram under a crown and were given an estimate of between 12,500 and 17,000 by the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleau.

Also in the auction was a manuscript of six chapters from the book "Memoirs to serve for a history of France under Napoleon" which was dictated, corrected and annotated by the defunct emperor. The manuscript was given an estimate of 17,000 to 21,000.

A travel bag made by imperial goldsmith Martin Guillaume Biennais that belonged to Napoleon was, like the underwear, also given an estimate of between 12,500 and 17,000.

Napoleon was born in Corsica, France to parents of minor noble Italian ancestry and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France. Bonaparte rose to prominence under the French First Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, he staged a coup d'tat and installed himself as First Consul; five years later the French Senate proclaimed him emperor. In the first decade of the 19th century, the French Empire under Napoleon engaged in a series of conflictsthe Napoleonic Warsinvolving every major European power. After a streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe, and Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances and the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French client states.

After his defeat at Waterloo, the British sent Napoleon into exile on the island of Saint Helena, one of the most remote places on earth, where he died in 1821 at the age of 51.

by: Sue Field

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