Jane Birkin’s Hermès Handbag Fetches Millions at Abu Dhabi Auction From Unknown Buyer
A Hermès handbag from the personal collection of the late Jane Birkin has sold for a staggering sum.
The bag was auctioned for $2.86 million at a Sotheby’s event in Abu Dhabi on December 5.
This sale comes just months after the record-breaking auction of her first-ever Hermès Birkin bag.
The iconic bag design was first created by Hermès for the British singer and actress in 1984.
It has since become one of the most coveted and recognizable luxury accessories in the world.
Sale Price Far Exceeds Pre-Auction Estimates
The specific bag sold was a “Birkin Voyageur” model, gifted to Birkin in 2003.
Its final sale price dramatically surpassed pre-auction expectations.
Bidding for the item was highly competitive, lasting for approximately 11 minutes among six collectors.
The winning bid, placed by an anonymous buyer over the phone, was nearly six times the high estimate.
Sotheby’s had initially projected a sale price between $230,000 and $430,000.
“Jane Birkin’s handbag legacy continues to captivate collectors,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
The bag featured a personal handwritten inscription in French from Birkin inside.
It read: “My Birkin bag, my globetrotting companion.”
Birkin’s Bag Legacy Supports Charitable Causes
This was one of four Hermès bags owned by the late celebrity that are being offered at auction.
Birkin was known for selling her bags to raise money for various charitable organizations.
The first prototype Birkin bag from 1984 set the current world record when it sold for $10 million in Paris this past July.
A third bag from her collection is scheduled to be auctioned in Paris on December 15.
That sale will be conducted by the Hotel Drouot auction house to benefit the future Jane Birkin Foundation.
The modern Birkin bag remains a symbol of extreme exclusivity, produced in very limited numbers by Hermès.
It is famously popular among celebrities, including the Kardashians, Jennifer Lopez, and Victoria Beckham.
The most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction remains a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.”
Those shoes sold for $32.5 million in 2024.
