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Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin bag sold on Thursday at Sotheby’s in Paris for €8.6 million ($10.1 million), breaking the global record for most valuable handbag ever sold at auction.
The 10-minute bidding battle for the legendary black leather handbag opened at €1 million. Of the nine prospective buyers who participated in the auction, the Birkin was ultimately sold to a private collector in Japan who bid via telephone through Sotheby’s Japan director Maiko Ichikawa.
“[The sale] is a startling demonstration of the power of a legend and its capacity to ignite the passion and desire of collectors seeking exceptional items with unique provenance,” said Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, in a statement. “The sale of the Original Birkin is also, ultimately, a celebration of the enduring spirit and appeal of its muse, Jane Birkin.”
The original Birkin, which is also the most valuable luxury item ever sold at Sotheby’s Paris, was commissioned exclusively for Jane Birkin in 1984 by Hermès’ then-longtime CEO Jean-Louis Dumas after the two were seated next to each other on a flight. Birkin also collaborated on the handbag’s design.
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In 1994, Birkin sold her namesake handbag to benefit French AIDS charity Association Solidarité Sida; it was last auctioned in 2000 to a collector publicly identified only as Catherine B, and has since been exhibited publicly at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and most recently in various Sotheby’s galleries in New York, Hong Kong and Paris. Jane Birkin passed away in 2023 at the age of 76.
“I’m already very nostalgic at the thought of knowing the bag is no longer mine but extremely happy it has found a new loving home,” said Catherine B, the original Birkin’s most recent owner and seller, in a statement.
The previous record for most valuable bag sold at auction was set in 2021 when the Hermès Himalaya Kelly was sold by Christie’s for 4 million Hong Kong dollars ($513,000).
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