Pablo Picasso's companion ceramics Vase deux anses hautes (Vase with Two High Handles), 1952-1953 also titled Le Roi (The King) and La reine (The Queen) are works of majestic quality.  These remarkable examples of Picasso's artistic research and development of the ceramic medium are elegantly detailed and carved with amazing precision and care. Picasso has used the voluptuous shape of the vase to his advantage with the king and queen, cleverly conveyed here in imaginative ways. Both reveal complex characters that are caring and enchanting with gazing eyes and soft facial expressions. Subtleties such as these in the form and coloration combine to breathe life into these skillfully crafted designs.

The figure of The Queen is informed by thousand year old forms of antiquity, drawing on styles of ancient cultures and artifacts. With a gaze as fixing as her pouting lips, this woman captivates. She is crowned with a star that sheds light down upon her stunning face. The heart-shaped face and vivacious curves, so expertly molded out of the handles, denote that she is full of life and energy. This technique of utilizing form and coloration with the exquisite hand applied decorations are what make the sculpture so stunning.

Her companion, The King, shares decorative aspects, such as the bird-like legs, and the star-burst atop the head, but is conceived in a style entirely unique to itself. Containing a rich variety of grays, placed symmetrically across the body of the vase, the pieced relies less on the effect of carving than on the beautifully applied engobes, giving The King a wonderful painterly effect to compliment his companion's more sculptural aesthetic.

Ceramics played a fundamental part in Picasso's career, from his first experiments in 1947 until his death almost thirty years later. Appreciated by the artist as a creative medium in its own right, he explored with abundance and apparent delight the interplay offered between line and form, between two and three dimensions.

Ramié 141, the beige, black, and white vase, was created in 1952. This white, earthenware turned vase is adorned with engobe decoration, and is knife engraved under partial brushed glaze. From an edition of 400, this work features the inscribed stamps, 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and 'D'APRES PICASSO' on the underside, along with the hand-written inscription 'Edition Picasso' in black ink.

Ramié 213, the black and white vase, was conceived in 1953. This white earthenware clay vase is decorated with engobe and knife engraving, and has been partially brushed with glaze. It comes from an edition of 400, and bears the MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and 'EDITION PICASSO' stamps on the underside, along with the hand-written inscription 'Edition Picasso' in black ink.

RECENT AUCTION RESULTS:
1. Christie's Online: Thursday, May 17, 2018 [Lot 00049]
Picasso Ceramics Online. Sold For $93,750 USD.
2. Christie's Online: Friday, March 2, 2018 [Lot 00021]
Picasso Ceramics Online. Sold For $103,277 USD.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

These two works, Pablo Picasso The King and The Queen (Vase with two high handles) 1952 and 1953,  are fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoice accompanying the final sale of the work):

1. Ramié, Alain. Picasso Catalogue of the edited ceramic works 1947-1971. Paris: Galerie Madoura, 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 141 on pg. 78.
2. Ramié, Alain. Picasso Catalogue of the edited ceramic works 1947-1971. Paris: Galerie Madoura, 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 213 (another example illustrated).
3. Ramié, Geroges. Picasso's Ceramics. New York: The Viking Press. Illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 715 on p. 279 and listed on p. 292 (another example illustrated).
4. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany each vase.