Picasso dish sells for €12k in Belgium

An earthenware dish designed and signed by Pablo Picasso in 1953, depicting a bullfight, was discovered by an employee of a second-hand shop in Antwerp, according to a local news outlet.

“It’s a beautiful work. It required knowledge and training to spot it, though,” Davy van Basteleare, the Kringwinkel Antwerpen’s auction manager, told VRT News. 

The dish is in excellent condition, according to Lander Janssens, Head of Sales and Marketing at Kringwinkel. It is made of white earthenware with brown-green decoration in engobe (clay or clay powder), enamel, and oxidised paraffin. On the back of the dish are two stamps: “Madoura Plein Feu” and “Empreinte Originale de Picasso.”

“We quickly examine every item that comes in to check that it is still in order and saleable. Sometimes we discover that certain items are valuable or unique. Our staff are trained to do this,” Janssens explained.

“We have, of course, made further checks, as of course anyone could put a stamp. But it turned out to be an original. It’s a relief design featuring a bullfight that was designed in 1953,” he added.

The Picasso-signed dish is part of a collection of 200 that were produced by the Madoura ceramics workshop in Vallauris, France.

The dish has since been auctioned off for 12,600 euros to a person identified as Johan, who said he is happy with his purchase. The proceeds of the sale typically go toward helping people.