A bone apart

BRITAIN: A tooth reputedly pulled from Napoleon Bonaparte's mouth sold at auction yesterday in Swindon for nearly £13,000.

BRITAIN: A tooth reputedly pulled from Napoleon Bonaparte's mouth sold at auction yesterday in Swindon for nearly £13,000.

It is believed to have been extracted in 1817 during the exile on St Helena by his physician, Barry O'Meara, an Irish doctor in the British navy who would later be dismissed for refusing to spy on Napoleon.

An anonymous British collector bought the tooth after the price was pushed up by six phone bidders from Europe and America to £11,000 (with buyer's premium bringing the total fee to £12,939).