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Burberry bag auction item: mocked symbol of the upstart

Photo: AP

The HBO series »Succession«, which came to an end in 2023 with its fourth season, was justifiably celebrated for its sensationally close look at the viciousness of the super-rich – in this case, the family of media mogul Logan Roy.

Dallas auction house Heritage, which specializes in popular culture collectibles, has auctioned off 236 items used in the series. Such an auction has become a nice source of additional income for production companies, and at the moment, for example, Bonhams in London can bid on memorabilia from "The Crown" – so there could soon be a royal carriage in its carport.

When it comes to »Succession«, on the other hand, the hammer has already fallen. The memorabilia of the series raised a total of more than 600,000 US dollars, according to the New York Times and the Guardian. More than 10,000 bids have been submitted, the auction house announced.

One of the most prominent items to go up for auction made its grand entrance in the first episode of the concluding fourth season. At a birthday party for patriarch Logan Roy, manager Tom Wambsgans mocks Cousin Greg's companion Bridget. She has a "grotesquely spacious bag," Tom comments, and speculates that she is probably carrying around "flat shoes for the subway" or her lunchbox.

A contemptuous comment about a bag, from which the contempt of the media manager (qua marriage belonging to the inner circle of the family clan) speaks for the class of those who have to carry their thing around with them and have no staff for it. Especially bitter because it is a Burberry bag, the retail price of which is already around 3000 euros. And also because the critic Wambsgans himself is ridiculed by the family as an upstart from Minnesota.

In any case, the scene, which has been shared many times on TikTok, must have remained in the memory of the successful bidder: The "grotesquely spacious bag", which, according to Tom Wambsgans, could also be used for camping or bank robberies, was auctioned off for 18,750 US dollars.

Other items up for auction include the dog costume in which Greg Hirsch, the cousin of the Roy descendants, works at an amusement park in the first episode of the series. According to the »Succession« prop master, the piece, which was "largely" cleaned of film vomit, reportedly fetched $7812,50.<>.

The highest overall bid was for a couple of index cards. On the pink cards, the youngest son Roman Roy had handwritten notes for a eulogy in the series. The four cards, three of which were written and one blank, were collectively sold for $25,000.

The last season of »Succession« has already brought the series conceived by Jesse Armstrong a number of awards, most recently at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. On Monday evening, the most important US television awards, the Emmy Awards, will be presented. »Succession« (which can be seen in Germany on Sky and Wow) has been nominated 27 times, by far the most nominations. There have been 13 Emmy awards for previous seasons.

Feb