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11 September 2024

Napoleon's undies up for grabs

A picture taken on December 3, 2010 in Fontainebleau, outside Paris, shows a pair of silk briefs, that kept Napoleon Bonaparte warm during his post-Waterloo exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, prior to be sold off this weekend. Embroidered with an "N" monogram under a crown, the ivory silk briefs have an estimate of between 15,000 and 20,000 euros (20,000 and 26,000 dollars), the Osenat auction house said. (AFP)

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By AFP

A pair of silk briefs that kept Napoleon Bonaparte warm during his post-Waterloo exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena are to be sold off this weekend, the auctioneers said Thursday.

Embroidered with an "N" monogram under a crown, the ivory silk briefs have an estimate of between 15,000 and 20,000 euros (20,000 and 26,000 dollars), the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleau outside of Paris said.

Also under the hammer is a manuscript of six chapters from the book "Memoirs to serve for a history of France under Napoleon", dictated, corrected and annotated by the defunct emperor with an estimate of 20,000 to 25,000 euros.

A travel bag made by imperial goldsmith Martin Guillaume Biennais that belonged to Napoleon has, like the underwear, an estimate of between 15,000 and 20,000 euros.

A total of more than 420 objects connected to Napoleon I, his family and to Napoleon III are to be sold.

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.