Empress Sisis Glove Which She Wore On The Day Of Her Murder Fetches GBP 56,000 At Auction

This glove worn by Empress Sisi on the day she was murdered and fetched nearly GBP 56,000 at auction.

Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (1837-1898) was murdered on 10th September in Geneva by anarchist Luigi Lucheni, 25, who stabbed her with a sharpened needle while pretending to stumble past her.

That day, she had been wearing this glove, which has now fetched EUR 66,000 (GBP 55,800) at an auction in the southern Bavarian city of Munich in Germany.

The black silk glove Sisi, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary wore on the day she was murdered, sold on auction for GBP 56,000. (Hermann Historica Munchen/Newsflash)

The auction house, Hermann Historica, said in a statement that “Empress Elisabeth of Austria adorned herself with the finest jewellery and the finest clothes.”

It added that “Lot 3138”, a “black silk glove” from her right hand, “which the Empress wore on the day of her gruesome murder in 1898”. It had a starting price of EUR 12,000 (GBP 10,150).

The auction house added that is was the “absolute highlight in every Empress Elisabeth collection and historically of the utmost importance.”

‘Prince of Orange as Cupid’, an oil painting on oak, painted and signed by Nicolas Maes (1634-93), that was on the auction. (Hermann Historica Munchen/Newsflash)

The glove was taken by Count von Berzeviczy, Sisi’s chamberlain after the Empress’ murder, according to local media outlet RTL.

The authenticity of the glove was reportedly confirmed by a letter written by the count, in which he confirmed “with my seal and handwritten signature that Her Majesty the Empress Elisabeth had this glove on her hand when she was murdered on September 10th, 1898 and that I personally pulled the glove off the dead body and kept it as a memento.”

Other items up for auction included the “Prince of Orange as Cupid” (“Prinz von Oranien als Amor”), an oil painting on oak by Nicolas Maes (1634-1693), who was a disciple of Rembrandt.

Rarest uniform of a drummer in the imperial army in Russia around 1906, one of the items that were on auction at Hermann Historica’s house in Munich. (Hermann Historica Munchen/Newsflash)

There was also a drummer uniform from the Russian Imperial Army dating back to around 1906, with the auction house saying: “A particularly beautiful example, namely the rarest uniform of a drummer in the imperial army in Russia around 1906, is being auctioned off by the auction house under lot number 3178. The gold trim as well as the red overlays and advances stand out very effectively from the dark basic cloth. From EUR 6,000, all discerning uniform enthusiasts will be attracted to bid.”

And there was also a “brush storage vessel” from the Meji period (1868 to 1912) of Japanese history up for auction, with Hermann Historica saying that it was “a particularly splendid brush storage vessel.

“Created from a sturdy piece of an elephant’s tusk and wonderfully decorated with many layers of finely decorated gold lacquer, it once pleased the eye of the calligrapher and today that of every art connoisseur. The starting price for this Japanese vessel from the Meji period is EUR 2,800.”