Two pistols belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte, representing the "darkest moment" in the life of the French emperor, were sold for 1.69 million euros (about 2.5 million Canadian dollars) at a public auction.

The pistols were sold at the Osnabrück auction house on Sunday in Fontainebleau, which is strangely located steps away from the palace where the late French emperor attempted to take his own life after his first abdication from the throne in April 1814.

Parisian gunsmith Louis Marin Jusset designed the pistols, which the auction house initially estimated would sell for between 1.2 and 1.5 million euros (about 1.77 million Canadian dollars and 2.22 million Canadian dollars). Jusset crafted the pieces with gold and silver decorations, one with a short barrel and the other long, adorned with an image of Napoleon and imperial crests.

According to Osnabrück, Napoleon intended to use the pistols to end his life on the night of April 12, 1814, after Paris's surrender just days earlier.

The emperor was unable to find the pouch of gunpowder that was preserved with his pistols and resorted to taking poison instead - which he survived. Napoleon died seven years later, in 1821, at the age of 51.

Bonaparte gifted the pistols to General Armand de Collincon - Duke of Vicenza - and they remained in the family for generations. The pistols were sold on Sunday to an anonymous buyer.

Rafael Pechal from Osnabrück told CTVNews.ca in a statement via email, "The French government declared the pistols as a national treasure in the week prior, which means they will have to remain in France."

In November of last year, a horned hat believed to belong to Napoleon was sold for 1.93 million euros in Paris. It was expected to sell for between 600,000 and 800,000 euros.