Napoleon's 'last gift' to son to fetch up to $1.9m at auction

Napoleon Bonaparte's last gift to his then-three-year-old son, that is, a pair of gold-encrusted pistols, is expected to fetch up to 1.2m pounds at a Sotheby's auction in July.

The pistols, dated 1814, feature Napoleonic symbols such as the imperial eagle and the iron crown of Italy, the BBC reported.

Christopher Mason, a specialist in European sculpture and works of art from Sotheby's, said that these remarkable treasures epitomise the greatest personal tragedy of Napoleon's life, that he saw his beloved son and heir for the last time in January 1814, destroying his hopes to create a lasting dynasty.

Mason added that within weeks the emperor had been defeated, abdicated his throne and was forced into exile on Elba. A year later he faced his final humiliation at Waterloo.

Sotheby's expects to sell the pistols for between 800,000 to 1.2m pounds at the auction on 8 July in London.