The lot, which will be put up for auction from Friday until Sunday by the Illinois-based Rock Island Auction Company, is valued at US$1.5 million (RM6.3 million) to US$3.5 million.

The sword, with its scabbard, is the “crown jewel” of the collection, said the auctioneers, who will host the sale both in person and online.

The weapon was made by Nicolas-Noel Boutet, who was director of the state arms factory in Versailles.

After being crowned emperor, Napoleon is believed to have presented the sword to general Jean-Andoche Junot, but the general’s wife later was forced to sell it to pay off debts.

It was then recovered by a London museum. A US collector was its last owner, but the man recently died, according to the auction house.

In May, France celebrated the bicentennial of Napoleon’s death.

The famed Corsican is one of the most divisive figures in French history, his huge contribution to the creation of the modern state set against his imperialism and war-mongering.

Fingerless gloves and cat cushions

Meanwhile, personal belongings of the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, including his trademark fingerless leather gloves and the cushions his cat Choupette sat on, are to go on sale in a series of auctions that begin in Monaco this week.

Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, was an icon of the fashion industry, celebrated as much for his distinctive personal style of gloves, sunglasses and ponytail as he was for the fashion he designed for Chanel and other houses.

The collection of belongings, being auctioned by Sotheby’s, has items from his personal wardrobe and the furniture, accessories and art which decorated his many homes.

Elaborate trunks and suitcases that Lagerfeld took with him when he travelled, three Rolls-Royce cars, and a pair of chrome-plated dumbbells owned by the famously body-conscious designer are also included.

The auction also runs from this Friday to Sunday before moving to Paris later this month and then to Cologne early next year.