The 19th century got off to a fairly good start for Napoleon Bonaparte. Victory over the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo led to a peace deal with Emperor Francis II, and by 1802 France had agreed to a similar, if less stable, treaty with England. Shortly after signing the Treaty of Amiens, Napoleon was proclaimed consul for life by the senate, solidifying his power and setting the stage for his later declaration as emperor.

He commissioned a sword that year, one that would stay with him until his exile to the remote island of St. Helena in 1815. Overseen by Nicolas-Noël Boutet, the master armorer who directed the state armory in Versailles, the sword is filled with imagery that reflected Napoleon’s sense of himself and his emergent place in European history.

Classical themes reign supreme—and not just lyres and palmettes. A stony-face Medusa gazes out from the sword’s guard and at the end of the mother-of-pearl handle, we meet the Nemean lion that Hercules killed in his first labor. On the back of the sword we meet Hercules himself, shown jacked up and resting a club on his shoulder. Down below, the impenetrable lion skin serves as the base for the globe, one Napoleon thought would in time be his. For good measure, the god of war, Mars, is present, suited up and accompanied by sunbeams pouring out of the heavens.

Giquello’s auction house has made the sword the flagship lot its May sale. Photo: Stephane de Sakutin/AFP.

On May 22, Napoleon’s saber headed for sale in Paris with the Giquello auction house, where it fetched an eye-watering €4.6 million ($5.2 million), far surpassing its estimate of €700,000–€1 million ($788,000–$1.1 million).

The sword was given to the military leader Emmanuel de Grouchy in 1815 on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo and has remained in the family ever since. Grouchy served during both the French revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars and was the last marshal of the empire to be appointed, a position Napoleon created to reward generals for distinguished military service.

As expected, the sword is rich in materials. It boats a curved Damascus blade, mounting made entirely of gold plated silver, and the wooden sheaf is wrapped in grey stingray skin woven with silver thread. Giquello describes the mounting as being “Turkish-inspired à la Marengo,” a reference to Napoleon’s victory in 1800 against the Austrians. His name is inscribed along with the words “PMIER CONSUL.”

Jean-Baptiste Debret, First Distribution of the Decorations of the Legion of Honor, Nara (1804). Photo: Getty Images.

Napoleon’s saber is the star pick in a 20-lot auction set to be hosted at Hôtel Drouot, a legendary auction venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Other artifacts include a one-handed 15th-century sword that realized €85,719 ($97,390); a century-old mask from Gabon which sold for €39,563 ($44,950), within estimate; and a sumptuous 17th-century tapestry that doubled its high estimate to sell for €112,094 ($127,357).

Napoleon memorabilia continues to command high prices in the French auction market. In 2023, a two-cornered hat worn by the French ruler, known as a bicorne, sold for a record €1.9 million ($2 million), topping the $1.4 million paid at Sotheby’s two years earlier. In 2007, a gold-encrusted sword that Napoleon wore into the Battle of Marengo sold for $6.5 million, a record price for a weapon sold at auction.

This story was originally published on May 1. It was updated on May 23, 3.30 p.m. ET, with the auction result.