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Napoleon’s gift to Polish mistress goes on sale

28.11.2019 13:51
A gold and diamond necklace given to a Polish countess by Napoleon is on sale in the southern British city of Ashford for USD 12,000 (EUR 11,000, PLN 47,000), according to the Puls Biznesu daily.
Napoleon Bonaparte (cropped from The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries)
Napoleon Bonaparte (cropped from "The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries")Image: Jacques-Louis David [Public domain]

The necklace was gifted by Napoleon to his Polish mistress Marie Walewska in 1810, six days before she gave birth to his child Alexander Florian Joseph, the paper reported.

At the time Napoleon was married to Josephine, his first wife, according to the Polish daily.

Puls Biznesu described the necklace as extravagant, with 11 diamonds as well as serpent and vine-leaf shaped decorations.

It was crafted by Polish jeweller Johann Gottlob Holub and bought by Napoleon in Wrocław during one of his many travels to Poland, the paper said.

The necklace is being sold by a Dutch collector after being passed down in his family from generation to generation, Puls Biznesu reported.

(tf/pk)

Source: Puls Biznesu