Big bucks in the bag as Succession props go on the block

The Burberry bag ridiculed in Succession fetched a very serious $18,750. Photo: AP
Someday soon, someone will be walking down the street proudly carrying a âludicrously capaciousâ bag, bought for a ludicrously capacious price.
The voluminous Burberry tote is one of the most famous props used on Succession, the HBO saga of the Roy family dynasty. It sold at auction on Saturday for $18,750.
The bag savagely ridiculed by Matthew Macfadyenâs Tom Wambsgans character, wasnât even the priciest item sold from the drama, which is  expected to clean up at Mondayâs Emmy Awards, after its Golden Globes wins.
That was a set of pink index cards containing Roman Royâs eulogy notes for his fatherâs funeral â a speech he never gave. Beginning, âMy father Logan Roy was a great man,â the four cards represent the tragic failure of Roman (Kieran Culkin) to meet the moment. They have a new life now with someone who paid $25,000.
The online auction on behalf of HBO at Heritage Auctions in Dallas brought in a total of $627,825 for 236 lots. The results showed not only that people loved the show, says Heritage spokesperson Robert Wilonsky, but also that meaningful objects, and not the showâs high-end fashion, clicked most with bidders.
Props often take a back seat to costumes. Thereâs no award for âbest propsâ, like there is for costumes, notes Succession prop master Monica Jacobs. But prop departments go to extreme lengths to secure just the right item â even if it only appears for a few seconds.
Jacobs shared the origin stories of one of the showâs most iconic props, the scorpion in resin paperweight that Tom gave wife Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook).
âIt turns out you can buy (dead) scorpions pretty easily,â she says, âbut theyâre small. Getting them large enough was not easy.â
Once she had a bunch she had to soak them to loosen up the glue so that she could reposition them for maximum effect. She stabilised them with wire and slow-baked them for hours on low heat until they were dry enough to be encased. A duplicate sold for a cool $10,000.
But back to the bag: Â Bridget, the date of Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) at Loganâs birthday party, made an unfortunate accessory choice. Tom imagined aloud what could be in the âludicrously capaciousâ tote:
âFlat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? ⊠You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job.â
Jacobs explains that finding the perfect bag to match the script was a collaboration between the props and wardrobe departments.
-AAP








