Brigitte Bardot's belongings fetch nearly €1m in Paris auction
Brigitte Bardot's dog collars sold for €9,400. Her hats, guitars and stuffed seals went with them, as 285 personal belongings fetched nearly €1m in Paris, about twenty times the pre-sale estimate The Guardian.
The sale was conducted by auction house Millon, with auctioneer Alexandre Millon at the rostrum. About 3,000 French and international bidders had registered. The pre-sale estimate for the whole group was about €50,000. The final total of nearly €1m included fees.
The objects came from Bardot's homes in Saint-Tropez and Paris, including La Madrague and La Garrigue, her properties in the south of France. They ranged from straw hats, sunglasses and nightgowns to tableware and furniture Asharq Al-Awsat. The catalogue also listed pairs of ballet flats and Bardot's copy of the Kama Sutra CNN, alongside small figurines, soft toys and personal mementos.
Bidding ran far past the estimates. Two dog collars, estimated at €30 for the pair, sold for €9,400. A self-portrait by Bardot sold for nearly €40,000. Her typewriter, used to write an autobiography, sold for €4,634.
Two guitars, estimated at €300 to €500, sold for €8,600 and €1,900. Three stuffed toys representing baby seals sold for nearly €2,200. Early estimates had priced individual lots from 20 euros to 10,000 euros.
Bardot died in December aged 91 The Guardian. She had stepped away from cinema in the 1970s and devoted her later life to animal protection.
Proceeds from the sale will go to her animal welfare foundation and to Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, her only child. Bardot founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, after organising a sale of her belongings in 1987 to create it. The foundation says it has taken in 13,000 animals through four shelters and 150 partner facilities, supports 350 groups in France and operates in 70 countries.
The sale was organised by the foundation, and it was preceded by a public dispute. Bernard d'Ormale, Bardot's last husband, publicly criticised the planned auction France 24. He was removed as head of the foundation days before the auction.
What makes this stand out is the gap between estimate and result. Small, everyday things drew the strongest contests. For buyers, the value lay in the owner, not the object.
