The freight train that is the Picasso ceramics market continued today in London with this sale at Sotheby’s nearly doubling the high estimate. Here’s Sotheby’s release on the sale:

The auction almost tripled its pre-sale low estimate to bring £1,726,625 ($2,548,153), with a 95% sell-through rate by lot and 68% of the works sold achieving prices above their high estimates. Seven of the top ten prices established records for the subjects. The top lot, Tripode, soared above its estimate to bring £233,000 (est. £55,000-65,000), while many pieces reached amounts well above pre-sale expectations, including Chouette visage de femme, which sold for £37,500, more than 12 times its estimate.

o   Pre-sale estimate: £663,300-930,900

o   Participants from 17 countries, from all four corners of the globe, including China, India, Brazil, Slovenia and New Zealand

o   62% of the buyers were first-time collectors of Picasso ceramics at Sotheby’s

o   29% of the buyers were first-time purchasers at Sotheby’s