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Picasso’s Visage No. 202 (£2,500-3,500). (Click on image to enlarge).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £17,500.

A chance to own your own Picasso at an affordable price arises at Christie’sin London next June.  The Madoura Collection of Picasso Ceramics will be sold in South Kensington next June 25 and 26. No less than 550 pieces made at the Madoura Pottery in Vallauris, France are being offered by Alain Ramié.  Estimates range from £100 up to £100,000.   Alain Ramié is author of the catalogue raisonné of Picasso ceramic editions and son of the pottery owners Georges and Suzanne Ramié. Between 1947 and 1971 Picasso produced 633 plates, bowls, vases and pitchers in limited editions ranging from 25 to 500.

Some highlights from the Madoura Collection. Images courtesy Christie’s Images 2011. (Click to enlarge).

Christie’s specialist India Phillips commented: “Christie’s is privileged to be working with Alain Ramié to stage the single most important collection sale dedicated to Picasso’s Ceramics ever held. Never again will works of this quality and with such impeccable provenance be offered fresh to the market – direct from the Madoura Pottery where Picasso first fell in love with the medium and spent many of the happiest and most prolific years of his life. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for 20th century ceramics collectors and connoisseurs of Picasso’s work, and we are very pleased to be able to offer our clients works from such an esteemed source.”

Highlights will be shown in Paris, Hong Kong and London.  The collection is expected to realise around £2 million.

UPDATE:  THE  two-day auction the Madoura Collection was 100% sold. It brought in £8,082,300, more than four times the pre-sale expectation.  There were buyers from 43 different countries.  The top lot was Grand vase aux femmes voilées, conceived in 1950 and executed in an edition of 25. It sold for more than ten-times the pre-sale estimate and realised £735,650.

In Dublin O’Reilly’s of Francis St. will offer more than 400 lots of antique and silver jewellery, watches, silverware and paintings on March 28.  Here is a small selection.  The catalogue is on-line.

A SOLITAIRE DIAMOND RING, mounted in 18ct white gold. Estimated; weight of diamond; 2.10 carat - 9,000-10,000. UPDATE: THIS LOT WAS WITHDRAWN.

AN EMERALD AND DIAMOND CLUSTER RING - 1,800-2,200. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,000.

A DIAMOND LINE BRACELET, the brilliant cut diamonds mounted in 18ct white gold. Estimated; weight of diamonds; 12.60 carat. 14,000-16,000. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 15,000.

AN ANTIQUE BRACELET, set with carnelian and adventurine quartz, mounted in gold - 350-400. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 330.

IRISH BANK NOTES; Lady Lavery series, £100 x 5 1ssued 4/4/77 - 1,000-1,200. THESE MADE 4,600

A GEORGE III IRISH SILVER CIRCULAR SUGAR BOWL - 600-800. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 550.

The Qing Dynasty cloisonne vase which sold for 120,000. (Click on image to enlarge).

A Qing Dynasty vase in the form of a duck made 120,000 against an estimated of 15,000-25,000 at Sheppards sale in Durrow.  It was bought by a collector on the west Coast of the United States who faced stiff competition from an English bidder in the room and from internet bidders in Beijing and Hong Kong.

The cloisonne vase  was the top lot in a three day sale of over 1,400 lots that was 84 per cent sold. The last day of the auction was devoted to Asian lots. A bronze Qianlong vase decorated with butterflies and foliage made 30,000 against an estimate of 3000-5,000.

Sheppards are currently putting together a four day Irish sale which will be held to coincide with the Kilkenny Arts Festival in August.

The Qianlong double gourd jade seal. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £3.4 MILLION.

A rare double gourd shaped seal from the Qianlong period (1736-1795) is one of the prime lots at Bonhams fine Chinese art sale in London on May 17. The Imperial spinach green jade double-gourd ‘San Xi Tang’ seal is estimated to sell for over £1 million.

Measuring just 8.7 centimeters long it has been authenticated by Guo Fuxiang of the Palace Museum in Beijing. San Xi Tang, (the Hall of the Three Rarities), is situated in the Forbidden City in the western side of the Yangxin Dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation). It was an important personal space for the Emperor Qianlong.

The seal is carved in an auspicious double-gourd form, associated with longevity as well as representing Heaven and Earth. The upper section is carved with three chi dragons (chilong), analogous to the hall name.

UPDATE: The seal made £3.4 million in a sale that realised over £11 million in total.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 24, 2012).

The Breal Cup at Christie's Olympic sale.

Christie’s will offer the cup awarded after the first marathon of the modern Olympic Games at an auction in South Kensington on April 18. Breal’s Silver Cup is estimated at £120,000-160,000.  It was won by Spyros Louis at the Athens Olympic Games of 1896 and is being offered for sale by his namesake and grandson.

The cup features at Christie’s sale of Vintage Posters and Olympic Icons, which features items from almost every Olympic Games.  There are Olympic torches from 1936 to 1996 estimated from £700 and 26 original advertising posters from the London games of 1908 to the Tokyo games of 1964. Altogether 179 lots are expected to bring in £700,000.

UPDATE: It made  £541,250 and broke the record for any item of Olympic memorabilia at auction. It was bought by The Stavros Niarchos Foundation and will be shared with the Greek people by being permanently displayed for public view at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center upon its completion in 2015.