This Collector Owns Over 2000 Pieces of Napoleon Memorabilia | Smithsonian Channel

Pierre-Jean Chalençon is an eccentric collector and avid Napoleon fan. His collection of Napoleonic memorabilia is legendary-including the Emperor’s own ring, which Chalençon wears himself!
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From Private Lives of the Monarchs: Napoleon Bonaparte bit.ly/35wVMaC
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[@thepearlatelier4256]

oh my gosh, can you imagine being able to WEAR THE ACTUAL RING THAT NAPOLEON WORE, mind blowing, i would too if i had the money. one of the most incredible man who ever walked on earth.

[@yaboyed5779]

I’d buss way too hard. Like bro that was owned and worn by Napoleon

[@walkdownyoblock]

Bro what ? 😭😭😭

[@Christian-Roots818]

Wow pretty darn Amazing ! He said, “OMG these English people” haha

[@gamercarmen3957]

Also, Napoleon got some tiny feet

[@ocreator12345]

Her voice when she says,"but your just wearing it" lol

[@unusualsuspect1262]

@@gamercarmen3957 STOP ! 😂

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

As for Napoleon's height, remember that French measurements were longer than Imperial ones. Napoleon wasn't tall, but average for his time. About 1.67 mt.

[@mercurial3252]

And oversimplified highlighted that.. he was really average height for the time.

[@IshijimaKairo]

he was just a bit shorter than I was at 14.. huh

[@pdjinne65]

That's actually taller than the average height in France for his time (around 1.64mt). Average height in general has grown 10cm since the beginning industrial revolution! I guess because of meat-based diets, more proteins, etc.

[@antoinem4401]

You are rubbing salt in the wound 😭

[@jestonxi6391]

he surrounded himself with tall soldiers

[@lolocaboclo]

Impressive. I love Napoleon and his history. Visiting his tomb I" cried. I was so touched. I've being a fan of him since I was born. My cat's name is always Napoleon,...Bonaparte since I was 6 . This guy is beyond amazing. It must to be a great feeling and dream to have anything that belonged to Napoleon. What a great collection. I'm painting "The Coronation" right now in oils and everytime I work in that paint I feel like I'm seieng Napoleon in person. Congratulations Mr.Chalençon maybe one day I can visit your collection.

[@arslongavitabrevis5136]

I fully agree with your sentiments. Mr.Chalençon is a wonderful man. In 2019 he announced that he will leave his fantastic collection to France.

[@FireInn]

I'm just glad his stuff is taken care of and secure, private or not.

[@moredistractions]

Very cool stuff! I'm sure Bonaparte would be delighted to see he is so lovingly remembered.

[@olbradley]

Or disturbed. Unless he's incredibly narcissistic I think most people (including him) would be disturbed if they saw someone this obsessed with a person if it was themselves.

[@theironknight597]

@@olbradley Not necessarily especially since many men were willing to die for him and would give their own lives for him. What is an admirer in comparison?

[@West_Coast_Mainline]

@@olbradley nah I would be glad

[@ΔεαΚ]

@@olbradley there were ppl 9bsessed with him and who worked for him like General Gourgaud, Junot.. Duroc.. there were the most intimate friends of him

[@Jp19981]

​@@olbradleyHe had hundrends of thousands willing to die for him...What's one man

[@blastorange2460]

OH MY GODS DEEZ ENGLISH PEOPLE. This man wins the most French award

[@SnoopyDoofie]

Year 3018: "This was Elon Musk's Roadstar that he launched into space a thousand years ago. Someone found it in a garbage dump on Mars."

[@defiant4761]

Equating Napoleon to Musk is an insult

[@mulemule]

2:10 *Totally gobsmacked: that painting is one of THE most iconic of Napoleon ever created. To think Pierre-Jean keeps it in his home. **_Mon Dieu!_* 😳

[@Username-or9nr]

2:28 that’s actually crazy when you think about it. Good for the dude for wearing it rather than just leaving it sitting there to collect dust

[@keepcalmyouexist358]

Wait, the video doesn't make clear whether this is open to the public at times or if this is just the man's home.

[@keepcalmyouexist358]

Okay, so, for anyone interested, I did some research and from what I understand this is the Palais Vivienne, on the Paris street of the same name. This man bought it and manages it. Typically it's not open like a museum, but you can call in to visit and even have private tours. It's also used as a reception/gala/restaurant for hire. Unclear whether the owner lives there tho.

[@adithyaathreya7832]

@@keepcalmyouexist358 he isn't allowed to sell any of the memorabilia but isn't it strange that the French government is okay with him literally wearing napoleans ring? What if he gets mugged or if it falls down some drain haha

[@TravelNut72]

@@adithyaathreya7832 I completely agree no one person should be allowed to even own such pieces of history i can't believe the audacity of him to be wearing that ring. Why would they sell it to a private person anyway? Why would the French government not haven taken this over and put it in a smithsonian or something?

[@makaelaischillin]

irresistibleguy72 I wonder how he even got it? I mean it’s not like they just *sell* things like that, unless they do of course.

[@ihl0700677525]

@@TravelNut72 Just because you are the head of state doesn't mean your property belongs to the state. We have enough Napoleon memorabilia in various museum, especially in Les Invalides. I see no reason to waste millions of taxpayers money to try to buy Chalençon's private collection. If you want to see his collection, you can call the man yourself.

[@mossy642]

‘I am a little bit crazy and French.’ Never were truer words spoken.

[@CS-rh2ce]

I am a huge Napoleon nerd and admirer so this collection was really quite amazing to me. To have the original of that painting of him at the corination is astounding. I also like how many of the objects are not legally allowed to leave France even though they are privately owned. I know of a sword that was sold of Napoleon's generally recently and I believe a condition of the sale was that it had to be in France for atleast 9 months out of the year, I believe it was the sword he wore at the battle of Marengo. I think its important that these things stay in France as Napoleon and the era in which he lived are so important to French history. Lovely collection.

[@arslongavitabrevis5136]

I fully agree with your sentiments. I was so glad when Mr.Chalençon announced that he will leave his collection to the French nation. VIVE L´EMPEREUR!

[@K-FOREST_Original]

Napoleon is a hero. The grand dream and execution power that I want to resemble.

[@nayadedecumbe7407]

Yes! He destroyed the Jacobins, which in turn would have destroyed France and possibly the rest of Europe for ever.

[@Worldofourown2024]

I guess the color in those old paintings really changed over time for the ring looks like a green emerald in the painting, but looks like blue topaz on the little bit crazy eccentric French collectors hand.

[@d0narroyo]

So I’m not the only one that noticed lol

[@dankace5596]

I know this is an old comment, but I’m sure it was the old varnish that was on there… over time it tends to fade and gets like a darker kinda brown film over the oil paint, if it was cleaned and re-varnished I am sure the color would spring back to life quite well. Hope ya see this!

[@napoleonbonaparte2001]

Me and him would get along perfectly!!!

[@shobith22]

For someone who crowned himself, the man would have hated it if he found out someone wore his ring.

[@ΔεαΚ]

It was planned beforehand anyways, with the Pope agreeing to it

[@fantasticalhistory4285]

I love the collection. Glad to see that it's being well taken care of.

[@janineford7816]

My great great grandfather was Colonel for napoleon his painting is in Bordeaux France I do have a copy of it and the wars he fought . Janine Barral

[@vmwindustries]

That's awesome! You have an amazing family history to explore!

[@vmwindustries]

BTW, You have beautiful eyes. Sorry if I stepped over a boundary. It can be rude to tell someone that they are beautiful these days. Not sure why personally. Anyway, have a good life!

[@Christian-Roots818]

Janine Ford that’s incredible !!!

[@democratshateamerica8196]

Yeah and my grandfather’s 3rd cousin on his wife’s side was the butler to George Washington

[@democratshateamerica8196]

vmwindustries creep

[@nawfsidereviews6029]

Gosh I wish to have that type of money.

[@harshit7736]

Why is this collector giving a vibe of some side mission character of Rockstar games

[@bennyhill5938]

Napoleon did nothing wrong

[@Christian-Roots818]

Benny Hill well, he did fail...so something was wrong.

[@Christian-Roots818]

Wait a minute, why is your name so familiar ?

[@nicknmm09]

The Iberian war and russia but admittedly he was an og and is one of my favorite historical figures

[@alexlumbard9154]

napoleon was an og

[@neelima6460]

Og?

[@Radke32]

@@neelima6460 Original Gremlin

[@neelima6460]

Then, indeed he is..

[@kadnan6111]

Neelu Nandu original gangster

[@AlxzAlec]

"Ah English people aaaarhhhhhhhh"

[@carlosmojica5090]

She asks him what are “some of his favorite” things 1:36 he shows her a painting and she relies “he doesn’t look very good” and he just brushes it off and keeps going..

[@henrylivingstone2971]

Well by the time that painting was made Napoleon had stomach cancer and was slowly dying, leading to his pallid complexion and dark eyes.

[@ajaxsfv1153]

Amazing, I wish I could spend the night in that house. Everything is a national treasure ,crazy

[@cleyton6648]

Simplesmente colecionador rico que tem itens Raros do maior, Estrategista militar de toda História.. Napoleâo

[@LordM17]

I wanna find a woman who is obsessed with me as he is with Napoleon

[@herkestennefretediyom3267]

That guy is literally me lol

[@akshatawasthi4037]

OMG English people

[@milowagon]

Astonishing ! A private collection. I think this guy is old money filthy rich. He is doing a great job.

[@kadnan6111]

These english people 😹

[@CharlesJenkins-be2cv]

Fitting emoji frost r urself

[@jarviscockapoo343]

He looks like he owns Elton johns ring 👍

[@jearnott]

What a shame these artefacts are in a private collection. I wonder if he has the snuffbox that was given to my ancestor, Doctor Arnott, by Napoleon. It was sold out of the family many years ago, along with a few other gifts.

[@yanniselm7347]

he says that all of his collection after his death will go to the french state so its okay

[@user-hu8fn2jp5v]

atleast its being taken care of by a guy who obviously treasures them

[@faisalalhaji4496]

Wow i want that ring

[@ilfarmboy]

English measurements and French measurements were different then Napoleon was 5 foot 6 inch not 5 foot 2 inch as some books say

[@Squidboi6677]

Half of me respects this man for doing this but the other part hates this man since he does not put security oh this

[@SK22000]

This guy is one of those crazy rich guys

[@clydecessna737]

What on earth is wrong with the way these objects are being displayed? Why do both commentators have an air of contempt in their comments?

[@sablewright8053]

This dude is awesome. He gets to wear Napoleon's stuff. I mean WOW! ❤❤❤

[@andyroo9381]

This man/collector is INCREDIBLE!!! He made this room, and himself, so accessible to us all. There is nothing wrong with how he is choosing to display these items. He is enjoying them in his way. I wish this video was longer. Long Live Pierre Jean!

[@carlogrignaschi8773]

Napoleone Buonaparte from Corsica.

[@moisepicard7919]

🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷

[@lyad3618]

I wonder how the French government does not own these artifacts. After all, these artifacts are part of France's history.

[@Casca-su3ty]

F.....k France is better in his hands

[@MrTwentycent90]

Hi I am French. Because France had been in civil war since 1789, and was again after the fall of Napoleon. The monarchy was restored and the objects of the "Usurper" were kept by private people (Napoleon's entourage), until today, and not by the State. Only a small part is in museums today. Napoleon has more or less been hated by all French political regimes since 1815 (including the Republic: he is a putschist general). The people love him, not the politicians; while modern France was literally shaped by this man. Shizophrenic country.

[@lyad3618]

@@MrTwentycent90 interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@40ozpunker]

Yeah...he rich

[@user-hu8fn2jp5v]

sure its a private collection, but im glad that its by someone who really treasures it and takes care of them

[@West_Coast_Mainline]

Jelous

[@ijustgottasay1281]

Eccentric indeed, and obviously rich, but when the door swings open at 0:32 he looks like BENNY HILL dressed up for a comedy sketch.

[@93200Jonas]

This guy shows us at the camera a few part of its Napoleon's collection. He 's so crazy Pierre-Jean Chalencon : p

[@randallwest1572]

I loved this guy!

[@Hispano15]

"You can call me Napoleon, I'll call you Josephine" bro got that Napoleonic rizz 💀

[@Muhfariztopvideosshortsstats08]

De la semaine prochaine pour un poste de versi la fin des années que je ne sais lol je vais essayer d'aller now u

[@p.k.6900]

Just for your info after some research. That painting was made by Francois Gerard about 20times. If this painting is the very first one is unknown. It also might be one of the 19other paintings or even a copy from that time.

[@alediazofficial2562]

he just put everyone in ”bling” culture to shame. While rappers today spend hundreds of thousands on “icing” they jewelry with aftermarket diamond cut left overs… this man can just casually flex Napoleons ring 😂

[@alienlynxhelios]

Lynx Helios

[@elenaracansky5424]

Wow, that is amazing! I am a huge fan of Napoleon myself and so jealous that one person has all these wonderful things of and about Napoleon. Beautiful. Napoleon to me was the most amazing, influential, intellectual man ever.

[@docmccoy95]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@Pilovinq]

etes vous en colère parce que la Russie a Gagne contre nous lors de l'invasion de la Russie par Napoleon?? ah jsp..

[@smeagollotr]

It belongs in a museum!

[@henrylivingstone2971]

Nah

[@herkestennefretediyom3267]

@@henrylivingstone2971 it is actually. It belonged to Napoléon, not anybody else, not only a person other than Napoléon and now it should belong to a museum, although the room is actually cool.

[@Loveisnot8789]

@@herkestennefretediyom3267 The emperor or ruler of europe had a mind set like you and they steal many many thing from asia and kept it in their meseum and destroy many things and hide all those info from the world

[@user-hu8fn2jp5v]

@@herkestennefretediyom3267 its being taken care of by a guy who treasures them. and he said when he died itll be handed over to france

[@doogboy]

WOW!

[@dukejordan8147]

United Kingdom builds one airplane* France: 1:20

[@jasminespencer3992]

French guys are the only guys in the world who can pull off red pants.

[@robnewman6101]

A Bad man!

[@MaikTyson5]

Ring on this collector finger is other than on Napoleon's finger. Form of ring and color is other. Or others not see this?? On collectors finger ring is round and with purple stone like purple topaz or amethyst maybe kunzite, and on Napoleons's finger ring is elongated and gemstone emerald for sure! So this collector is scammer!

[@MajorDenisBloodnok]

I would the painting by Édouard Detaille of Bonaparte in Italy!

[@ShakeaAhsk]

Someone is going to steal that dudes ring while he’s out shopping

[@russellking9762]

I'm just amazed at how the Nazis never got hold of any of this stuff....one thing's for sure you wouldn't have been wearing that ring in front of them

[@songbird377]

My cousin is a descendant of Napoleon’s sister 😆

[@vickinoeske1711]

Color me speechless.

[@abominusrex3205]

Yeah, I guess one maniacal billionaire general would not mind another maniacal billionaire wearing his stuff

[@joedoe5738]

Well I guess Winston Churchill was shorter, for sure!!

[@Dochorahan]

Hundreds of years from now. That ring now sits behind a sealed glass container. “Due to a crazy Rich man from the 21st century, this ring is now degraded and has corroded beyond repair”

[@henrylivingstone2971]

🙄🙄🙄

[@12131AllDay]

All the sacrifices he made just to have some fruit trust fund baby collect his stuff like baseball cards.

[@dws0828]

The ring flex was necessary 🔥

[@Tsaroff21]

I’m surprised Connor Roy doesn’t own more.

[@anangel2618]

That's gonna be me I swear 😭😭😭

[@jadenproductions1439]

Hi everyone 👋

[@johnnelson2509]

Hello

[@herkestennefretediyom3267]

I would writhe in awe omg

[@Th4n0s369]

This guy looks like Yngwie Malmsteen tho

[@arslongavitabrevis5136]

Beautiful video. How I envie this man! 😭 (LOL) Good for him! If it wasn´t for him many priceless pieces of Napoleonic memorabilia would have left France. In 2019 he announced he would leave his collection to the French state. Vive l´Empereur!

[@BrokeAgain]

how much bad propaganda we got from the brits

[@ZAMislive]

Napoleon, the murderer.

[@Casca-su3ty]

Is his and the government can't have it !!!!!!

[@civic9404]

How do I acquire The Smithsonian Channel? Which streaming service for the US?

[@twonumber22]

I used to have it with Time Warner cable.

[@Jacob-ly1wr]

“This belongs in a museum!” - Indiana Jones

[@AlxzAlec]

This is crazy

[@Ccc.9125]

Long lives Napoleon 😊.

[@abigaillizeth7395]

Rebuild Napoleon's palace and put all those objects there ...

[@johnprice7507]

I'd pay to see that

[@MatthewVanston]

You mean les Tuileries? Coz that was his palace.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

@@MatthewVanston Or Fontainebleau he used that building a lot as well

[@kidpeligro7878]

Yeah you got money. But do you have "I can buy & wear Napoleon Bonaparte's ring" money???

[@pooqqqqwww]

But there’s nothing he can do😂

[@RpattoYT]

_5.5 is still a short-arse_

[@royroland3884]

5.5/5.6 may seem short today, but it was a little above average height for men at that time.

[@RpattoYT]

@@royroland3884 It's not that much different from today's average, but that's still considered short by idealized standards. So, yeah he wasn't full size man even for his time, by which I mean he places firmly in the hobbit territory.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

French feet and inches (pied du roi, pouce) were longer than British ones (Imperial), from which the American customary derived.

[@MatthewVanston]

He was 1m69 tall, so slightly taller than the average male height in France for the time. The reason why he was called small was because he was often seen on the battlefield accompanied by his grenadier guards, whose minimum height was 1m76.

[@RpattoYT]

@@MatthewVanston So you're telling me this "tall" man was over-shadowed by another small man, who's still shorter than the average man by a fair bit too.

[@zes7215]

no such thing as own or for or etc

[@wesssavorn9018]

Would luv to know what type of gem was in his ring??? Does anyone know ??

[@MrTwentycent90]

sapphire

[@Trudragon88]

So cool!!!

[@krisshaw9464]

The French drive me insane

[@rmanibhu1]

Wow awesome collections 👑♥️♥️♥️

[@sherylcrowe3255]

Memorabilia? Not Historical Artifacts? Interesting

[@ocreator12345]

Her voice when she says,"but your just wearing it" lol

[@herkestennefretediyom3267]

1:04 he is still smol actually

[@xx-tw8xh]

I want that ring

[@StewArt61]

Should be in a museum for all to see..