'Louis Vuitton' handbag, smaller than a grain of salt, sold for Rs 51.7 lakh

MSCHF has not sought permission from Louis Vuitton to use their logo or design for the microscopic handbag. (Image: @mschf/Instagram)

A handbag that is “smaller than a grain of salt and narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle” was sold for $63,000 (Rs 51.7 lakh) at an auction in New York on Wednesday. The neon green bag, modelled after the Louis Vuitton Monogram OnTheGo handbag, measures just 657 by 222 by 700 micrometres.

It was created by MSCHF, a New York-based art collective known for its outlandish and bizarre creations. The bag had amused the internet right after it was unveiled earlier this month.

“As a once-functional object like a handbag becomes smaller and smaller its object status becomes steadily more abstracted until it is purely a brand signifier,” the collective said, describing the microscopic handbag.

MSCHF has not sought permission from Louis Vuitton to use their logo or design for the microscopic handbag

The collective, created in 2016, specialises in reappropriating works of art or commercial objects.

In the past, it has made the "Satan Shoe" in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X. The shoe had an apparent drop of human blood in the midsole.

They released 666 pairs of black Nike Air Max 97s customized to feature a bronze pentagram, a Bible verse referring to Satan's fall, and a drop of human blood mixed with red ink in the midsole.

Nike sued on grounds of trademark infringement.

MSCHF reached a deal with Nike under which it issued a voluntary recall for the sneakers.