A lock of hair cut from Napoleon Bonaparte’s head after he died has sold for just over €10,000 at an auction in New Zealand.
Extra phone lines were installed for the sale to cope with an expected rush of international buyers seeking to snip up the hair cut from the head of former French Emperor a day after his death in 1821 while he was in exile on the island of St. Helena.
The circle of hair was part of a collection brought to New Zealand in 1864 by Denzil Ibbetson, a British commissary officer and artist.
The collection of about 40 items, including sketches by Ibbetson of Napoleon on his death bed at the age of 51, was sold by the descendants of Ibbetson.
