The sellers got a very good deal this Thursday, May 2, during an auction in Tours. They had bought these two ceramics 1,700 times cheaper in a flea market. Do the math!
This is called being lucky. Very lucky indeed. Two plates, bought for 4 euros by a couple at a flea market, were sold for the modest sum of 6,900 euros during auctions organized this Thursday, May 2 in Joué-lès-Tours. But how can we explain such a tumble? It’s simple, they were signed Picasso!
These two plates had been found for a pittance of bread in Indre by the couple. The latter, suspecting something, had them valued by the Giraudeau auction house. The Joué-lès-Tours auction house then delivered its verdict: between €1,500 and €2,000 each. The auctions organized this Thursday by this same house therefore exceeded these estimates, reaching €3,500 for one and €3,400 for the other, under the hammer of Me Mériadec Dehen.
These plates, dating from 1956, were made by Picasso, as part of a collaboration between the Spanish artist and the Madoura ceramic workshop, in the Alpes-Maritimes department. From this collaboration, which lasted around twenty years, hundreds of pieces emerged, all set with stamps attesting to their authenticity. Our two plates bear these words, namely “Empreinte original de Picasso” and “MADOURA plein feu”.
Detail of one of the plates, with the two stamps affixed to the back of the ceramic
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© Giraudeau auction house © Succession Picasso 2024
The ceramics of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) are especially sought after by amateurs. In August 2022, another earthenware plate made by the master for the Madoura workshop was sold for €4,200 in Nîmes. On a famous auction site, several copies are currently seeking buyers for €6,800 or even €14,000. A little trip to the flea market, would you like it?
