Constructed with a slender vase opening and traditionally wide base, Pablo Picasso ceramic Bouteille gravée (Engraved Bottle), 1954 A.R. 249 is a very large scale Madoura ceramic. The black and beige decoration is truly exquisite. In this piece, Picasso has combined flat surface and incised decorative areas that create alternating areas of depth within the work. The simplified smiling figures are cheerful and imaginative and reflect Picasso's interest in twentieth century "primitivism," also understood as the reduction of form to its most basic, or primitive, state.

Created in 1954, this turned vase of white earthenware clay with decoration in engobes and paraffin (black, beige) is boring-rod engraved with white enamel. From the edition of 300, this work is inscribed 'Edition Picasso' and 'Madoura' on the underside and has had some expert conservation.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Pablo Picasso ceramic Engraved Bottle (Bouteille gravée) 1954 A.R. 249 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices accompanying the sale of the work):

1. Ramié, Alain. Picasso Catalogue of the edited ceramic works 1947-1971. Madoura: 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 249 on pg. 132.

2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.