Hermes Birkin bag owned by Jane Birkin could fetch more than £300,000 at auction

A Birkin bag owned by the actress and singer who inspired its name is expected to fetch between 240,000 and 440,000 dollars (£179,000 – £328,000) at auction.

It comes after Jane Birkin’s original Hermes Birkin sold for 8.6 million euros (£7.4 million) in July – becoming the most valuable handbag to ever be sold at auction.

The classic handbag was designed for Birkin, who died in 2023 at the age of 76 and was known for starring in French and British films from the 1960s onwards.

At a live auction in Abu Dhabi on December 5 one of her bags will be sold under the name Le Birkin Voyageur – a reference to a message inside the bag, written by the actress herself.

Given to Birkin by Hermes in 2003, this black Birkin was one of four the artist used after she sold her original Birkin for the first time in 1994, according to auction house Sotheby’s.

Le Birkin Voyageur was Birkin’s everyday bag from 2003 to 2007, when it was sold at auction.

It has remained in a private collection ever since and as part of its preparation for the 2007 auction the actress wrote notes in silver ink.

Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, said: “To present not one, but two of Jane Birkin’s personal Hermes bags in a single year is nothing short of historic.

“Following the record-breaking sale of the original Birkin prototype in July, this exceptionally rare example offers collectors an intimate connection to the woman at the origin of the world’s most iconic handbag.

“This is not just a piece of fashion history, but a deeply personal artefact from a cultural and style icon whose legacy continues to inspire.”

The bag will be offered at auction as part of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week, a programme of auctions, discussions and exhibitions, presented in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi from December 2 to 5.