Bardot auction in Paris fetches nearly one million euros

An auction of French screen legend Brigitte Bardot's personal items fetched nearly one million euros in Paris on Monday, almost 20 times the estimate, the Millon auction house told AFP. 

A total of 285 objects ranging from straw hats, sunglasses, nightgowns to tableware and furniture from La Madrague and La Garrigue, Bardot's homes in Saint-Tropez in southeastern France, and her Paris apartment generated tremendous enthusiasm, an AFP journalist said.

Bardot died in December aged 91. The proceeds will go to Bardot's animal welfare foundation and to Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, her only child.

Founded by the actor in 1986, the Brigitte Bardot 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.

Some 3,000 French and international bidders had registered for the auction.

"Brigitte Bardot has once again proved to be a remarkable alchemist: she transformed about 50,000 euros ($57,000) in estimates into nearly a million euros including fees," said auctioneer Alexandre Millon.

Two dog collars, with an ID tag bearing Bardot's name and the telephone number for La Madrague, estimated at 30 euros for the pair, were sold for 9,400 euros to a Russian buyer.

A self-portrait fetched nearly 40,000 euros, while the typewriter she used to write an autobiography sold for 4,634 euros.

Estimated at between 300 and 500 euros, two of her guitars soared to 8,600 and 11,900 euros while three stuffed toys representing baby seals sold for nearly 2,200 euros.

"This sale is the logical continuation of the one she herself organised in 1987 with her most precious belongings to create her foundation. Today, her fight continues through this auction," Ghyslaine Calmels, managing director of the Bardot Foundation, told AFP after the sale. 

Two days before the auction, Bernard d’Ormale, Brigitte Bardot's last husband, slammed it as a "joke".

"These are personal items. Why hold this sale? For the animals? It's a joke," Bernard d'Ormale told AFP, adding it amounted to a "disrespect to Brigitte's memory".

Her belongings should have been preserved as part of her legacy rather than sold to raise funds for the foundation she created, d'Ormale argued, adding that Bardot "would not have agreed to this sale".

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation rejected the criticism, saying the auction was approved by the board in June, including Bardot's widower, who was then its president.

However, d'Ormale said he had not understood the auction would involve such personal items.

The dispute comes days after he was removed as head of the foundation, a role he had held since the star's death.