There’s a thing with Picasso and owls. The sculpture above made a dramatic price last year at Sotheby’s. Colin Gleadell finds that a collector of Picasso ceramics also seems to have caught the bug too:

An example last week was London collector, Dr Marios Pierides, who bought a 1951 vase decorated with a slightly alarmed looking owl with ruffled feathers for £13,400. It had been estimated at £4,000 to £6,000, but Pierides has a thing about Picasso owls. “I saw my first one in a gallery window 15 years ago and bought it.” That was before the market took off. “Picasso had a pet owl,” he continues, “and made 14 different ceramic vases with owls. Until last week I had 13; now I have an example of each. When I start on something I like to finish it.”

Market News: Picasso’s ceramics delight  (Telegraph)