10 April, 2017: Sotheby’s sale of Important Ceramics by Pablo Picasso in London today raised a total of £1,040,725 (est. £553,100-805,500), with all but one of the 86 lots offered finding buyers. The auction was led by the exquisite Gros oiseau visage noir and the bold Taureau, sold respectively for £125,000 and £100,000. With estimates ranging from £1,000 to £100,000, 85% of the pieces sold achieved prices above their high estimates, testament to their enduring appeal.

The medium of ceramics was largely new to Picasso when he began working at the Madoura Pottery at the South of France in 1947, but he immediately saw the potential of this traditional craft and set about learning and challenging the techniques of the ceramicist’s art, reinterpreting it with a remarkable resourcefulness and his characteristic spontaneity. From zoomorphic jugs and vases to plates and salvers emblazoned with scenes and faces, Picasso’s imagination was matched by the malleability of the ceramicist’s medium.

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