Sotheby's London held a 'white glove' sale of 126 one-of-a-kind ceramics by Pablo Picasso, all from the collection of his granddaughter Marina Picasso. The auction achieved a 100% sell-through rate, generating £12.3 million ($19.4 million), with the top lot—a painted goat-shaped vase titled *Cabri* (circa 1947)—selling for £485,000, nearly quadrupling its estimate.
The sale underscores the booming market for Picasso ceramics, which remain among the most accessible works in his oeuvre. Marina Picasso's decision to liquidate her inheritance, including paintings and the artist's Cannes villa 'La Californie,' reflects a personal reckoning with her fraught relationship with her grandfather, as detailed in her 2001 memoir. The strong demand for these unique, hand-modeled pieces highlights collectors' appetite for rare, directly authored works.