Picasso ceramics have taken ahold of the art market to become one of Picasso’s most quickly enduring market segments. Long ignored, the Picasso ceramics market is desirable as works are not only exclusive and limited, but also accessible to emerging collectors much like his lithographs.
With beginning prices of around $1,500, some of them fall below the $3,000 range making them wonderful investments. Such examples are Picasso’s bowls, often referred to as ashtrays, which are decorated with bullfighting scenes (usually picador and bull), owls and birds. Rapidly growing in value, they have gone from being under $1,000 a few years ago to selling for over $3,000 depending on the image displayed and of course condition.
Quite an investment no matter the money spent, Picasso ceramics are here to stay. That will be good in the long run for the Picasso market as it enables diversity among collectors and highlights Picasso talents as a skilled artisan, which went unnoticed for some time and is long overdue.Then on the other side of the demand, in the high-end market, there are Picasso’s more unique sculptural ceramic pieces that have reached incredibly high prices. Rising to millions of dollars sold in the market over the last 10 years, Picasso ceramic results have blown the $100,000 recorded prices in the 90s out of the water. Christie’s sold the famous glazed vase Grand vase aux femmes voilées for over $1.1 million including fees (June 25, 2012 in London). While in June 2013, another copy of Grand vase aux femmes voilées fetched $1.5 million including fees, adding $400,000 to the work’s value in just one year.