A ceramic bowl made by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso has surfaced at a thrift store in Antwerp, Kringwinkel Antwerpen, the shop reported on Friday.
The bowl was discovered among regular donations. One of the employees recognised it as a work by Picasso. The item was auctioned on Kringwinkel's own auction site www.uwkringding.be for €12,600. The person who was able to buy the bowl wants to donate it to a charity for young people with autism.
The ceramic bowl was still in good condition, according to Kringwinkel. "It is made of white earthenware, with brown-green decor in engobe, enamel and oxidised paraffin," it said. "On the back, both the 'Madoura Plein Feu' stamp and the 'Empreinte Originale de Picasso' stamp can be found."
The bowl features a design of a bullfight, in relief. It was designed on 11 March 1953 and is said to have been produced in an edition of 200 pieces. It is not known who donated the bowl.
Earlier this year, employees of Kringwinkel Antwerpen also discovered an original etching by the Ostend painter James Ensor. That etching was then donated to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp (KMSKA).
