Hat with Napoleon Bonaparte’s DNA previews in Hong Kong

Auction house Bonhams in Hong Kong on Monday previewed a newly discovered hat with DNA evidence proving it belonged to the legendary European statesman and general Napoleon Bonaparte

Bonhams described it as the “first hat to bear the Emperor’s DNA”. Reuters reported that the hat is on display in Hong Kong before it moves to Paris and then London, where it will be auctioned on October 27.

It is reportedly said that the hat is one of the iconic bicornes often seen in depictions of Napoleon on the battlefield. It had been bought by its present owner at a small German auction house that did not know at the time it had belonged to the emperor.

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“It was purely a chance encounter,” said Simon Cottle, managing director for Bonhams Europe, Reuters reported.

“The buyer became fascinated when he realised it had inscriptions and other characteristics suggesting it could have belonged to Napoleon,” Cottle reportedly said, adding that an initial investigation suggested it matched the dimensions and age of Napoleon’s bicornes.

Including electronic microscopy, the hat was then tested extensively.

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“Five hairs were discovered when the contents of the hat were examined very closely,” Cottle said. “And two of those hairs were then followed up, and they carried the marker of Napoleon.”

Unlike other Napoleonic bicornes, the story behind the hat is different from that have been offered on the market, according to Cottle. He said most of them had been handed down by noble families connected to the emperor, or soldiers who picked them up on the battleground.

It is estimated that the price of the hat is between 100,000 pounds ($138,550) and 150,000 pounds. Other Napoleonic hats, with more history in the auction circuit, have fetched as much as $2.5 million dollars.