US billionaire and francophile Christopher Forbes' collection of artifacts from the life of Napoleon III and Napoleon Bonaparte's wedding certificate went under the hammer over the weekend, drawing numerous buyers and museums, French auction house Osenat said Sunday.
"Ninety-nine percent" of the collection -- which included some 1,300 letters and manuscripts, and more than 500 paintings -- sold during the two-day auction, Osenat said.
"Forty lots were purchased or pre-empted" by museums, including the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, the neighbouring National Museum of the Legion of Honour and the National Archives.
The French government has a "right of pre-emption" enabling it to purchase items that it deems should remain in France.
