French emperor Napolean Bonaparte's two pistols, with which he intended to kill himself, were sold at an auction house for €1.69m (approx Rs 15.26 crore) on Sunday.
The pistols were sold at Osenat auction house, next to the Fontainebleau palace in France, where Bonaparte tried to kill himself after his abdication in 1814.
News agency AFP reported that the French government had banned the export of these pistols as they wanted to keep them as a national treasure.
The buyer’s identity has not been made public and the final price, inclusive of all fees, was above the expected price of €1.2-1.5m.
"This means the French government now has 30 months to make a purchase offer to the new owner, who has not been named. It also means the pistols can only leave France temporarily," the BBC report said.
The guns have an engraved image of the emperor in profile and inlaid with silver and gold. These pistols were designed by Louis-Marin Gosset, a Paris gunmaker.
"After the defeat of the French campaign, he was depressed and wanted to commit suicide with these weapons but his grand squire removed the powder," auction house expert, Jean-Pierre Osenat, said ahead of the auction, AFP reported.
The emperor then took poison to kill himself, but survived.
These pistols were passed on to his descendants. Recently, they were included in the sale along with their original box and accessories such as powder tamping rods and powder horn.
After his abdication, Bonaparte was sent into exile to the island of Elba around the coast of Italy. He returned to power in 1815 but was soon defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. He died in 1821 during exile on the island of Saint Helena.
"Being classified as a national treasure gives an incredible value to the object," mentioned a representative at the auction.
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