In Joué-les-Tours (Indre-et-Loire), two plates made by Pablo Picasso in 1956 will soon be sold at auction. Estimated between 1500 and 2000, they nevertheless only cost their owners four euros each during a flea market.
Flea markets can be lands of unsuspected treasures. In Tours (Indre-et-Loire), two bargain hunters thought they had made a small deal by bargaining for two plates, at four euros each, at a flea market. Seduced by the drawing which is strongly reminiscent of Pablo Picasso, they thought it was a simple reproduction.
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However, curious to know more, they have the plates examined by a specialist who reveals to them that they have a lovely treasure in their hands. In fact, the two plates have been authenticated thanks to the stamp they bear on their backs. Pablo Picasso made his plates in 1956 in the Madoura workshop, in Vallauris (Alpes-Maritimes).
The two bases are then valued at an amount much larger than the four euros invested. Their value is estimated between 1500 and 2000 each. They will be sold at auction on Thursday May 2, 2024 at the Giraudeau auction house, in Joué-les-Tours.
“There is value in our homes”
Questioned by La Nouvelle République, the auctioneer responsible for this sale took the opportunity to point out that there are plenty of unsuspected treasures like this in homes: “There is value in our homes. People don’t always know about it, but we can move around, it’s our job”.
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If the sale of the plates will make the two bargain hunters happy, the second-hand dealers having sold them for a pittance must certainly be biting their fingers: “People do not have the reflex to contact an auction house when an inheritance occurs. Some people think that it is something restricted, which is not for everyone (…). Yet 99% of our work concerns objects costing a few tens or a few hundred euros.”, explains Me Mériadec Dehen.
The latter hopes to be able to obtain a little more than the value announced on the plates of the Italian painter. The auction will concern around 400 objects, including an armchair created by the designer and architect Charles Eames, estimated between 2000 and 3000 euros.
