A microscopic handbag "smaller than a grain of salt" has been sold for $63,750 (£50,569) at auction.

A microscope is needed to view the bag's design, with the tiny object measuring 657 x 222 x 700 micrometres.

"Narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle, this is a purse so small you'll need a microscope to see it," the art collective behind the bag said.

Art collective MSCHF, based in Brooklyn, is known for its controversial designs.

They include shoes that contain human blood, trainers with holy water in the soles, a cologne that smells like WD-40, and giant red rubber boots.

This time, the collective decided to take the trend of small handbags to the extreme.

"There are big handbags, normal handbags and small handbags, but this is the final word in bag miniaturisation," MSCHF said in a post about the bag.

The bag features luxury handbag designer Louis Vuitton branding, but has no connection to the brand.

It is made of photopolymer resin and was created using a 3D printing technology often used to make tiny mechanical models and structures.

While it was being created, some of the tiny bag samples sent to be reviewed by the brand were so small that they were lost by the MSCHF team, the Smithsonian magazine reports.

But loss of the item should be less of a worry for the new bag's owner, as a microscope with a digital display was included in the purchase.

Microscopes with digital displays can be bought from online retailers and can range in price from $60 to thousands of dollars.

The auction site did not list the price of the microscope separately from the bag. Bids for the item started at $15,000.

Speaking about the use of Louis Vuitton branding on the bag, MSCHF's chief creative officer, Kevin Wiesner, told the New York Times earlier this month that the group had not sought permission from the brand to use it. "We are big in the 'ask forgiveness, not permission' school," he said.

MSCHF settled a lawsuit with Nike in 2021 over its sale of modified trainers containing a drop of human blood. It is also appealing in a Vans trademark lawsuit.