It was offered at auction in London

Napoleon Bonaparte's wife jewelry exceeds pre-sale expectations

Empress Josephine's jewelry at auction.

archival

Two crowns believed to have belonged to Josephine Bonaparte, the first wife of French Emperor Napoleon, were put up for auction in the British capital, London, on Tuesday, after a century and a half in private ownership.

They sold for 576,000 pounds ($763,000) on December 7 at Sotheby's in London, topping the high estimate of 500,000 pounds ($662,000).

One of the tiaras is solid gold with blue enamel accents and bright red carnelian patterns featuring classic images.

The tiara is part of a jewelry set, along with matching earrings, an embellished belt and a comb.

The second crown is made of gold and enamel, and it was made with very literal images representing the ancient Greek gods Zeus, Dionysus, Medusa, Pan and Gaia, and it is made of agate and jasper.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which previously held this collection, on loan, noted that it was "probably a gift from Napoleon's sister, Caroline Murat".

The Empress, also known as Josephine de Beauharnais, after her first marriage to the noble and General Alexandre de Beauharnais, has been a subject of admiration in recent decades.

Napoleon's letters to her express his passion and fondness for her, and some portray her as the intelligent seductress who eventually abandoned the emperor, when they were unable to produce an heir to the throne together.

The crowns are part of the 19th century styles, symbolizing the classic design, which flourished under Napoleon.

"Empress Josephine was much more than an antiquities collector," said Christian Spofforth, Sotheby's director of jewelry in London, in a press release issued before the auction.

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