The British auction house Sotheby's indicated on Monday January 11 that it was putting up for sale on its website the key to the room where Napoleon died when he was imprisoned on the island of Saint Helena by the British.
This metal piece, 13 centimeters long, was found
"in an envelope, in a trunk of a Scottish house"
, explained in a press release David MacDonald, specialist in British furniture at Sotheby's.
Read also: Saint Helena at the heart of Napoleonic tourism
"The family who had always known she was there somewhere, but she had been hidden,"
he added.
A soldier named Charles Richard Fox, who was on the island of Saint Helena after the death of the French Emperor in 1821, brought the key back to Scotland to give it to his mother, who was a
"big fan"
of the former ruler, to the point of having sent him sweets and books during his captivity.
His descendants eventually found the key, and decided to sell it at auction.
“We often see objects associated with Napoleon - important paintings or furniture from one of his incredible homes,”
said David MacDonald,
“but there is something quite powerful about this key, especially because it comes from the place where he was imprisoned and the room where he died ”.
“It was as strong and powerful an object then as it is today,”
he said.
To read also: The French consul in Saint Helena: "Boredom was fatal for Napoleon"
Richard Fox had himself removed the key from his lock during a visit after Napoleon's death, he explained in a note dated September 6, 1922, sold with the object.
According to Sotheby's, the lot could be worth up to 5,000 pounds (5,500 euros) at the end of four days of auction, which ends Thursday.