PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)
Petite Chouette (A.R. 82)
White earthenware ceramic pitcher, partially engraved, with coloured engobe and glaze.
1949
Stamped “Madoura Plein Feu” and “Edition Picasso” (underneath).
Height: 5½ in. (14 cm.)
Conceived in 1949, a variant in design and color in the edition of 200.
Literature: “Pablo Picasso: Catalogue of the Edited Ceramic Works 1947-1971.”, A. Ramié. 1988. p.53, no. 82 (another ex. ill.).
Few creatures captivated Picasso quite like the owl. After finding a wounded bird at Antibes in the late 1940s and nursing it back to health in his studio, he became fascinated by its watchful, slightly comic presence — and the owl went on to become one of the recurring characters of his ceramic and sculptural work throughout the following decades. Petite Chouette captures that fascination at its very origin, dated 1949, right as Picasso’s Madoura period was taking shape. Here, the pitcher’s form itself becomes the bird: its handle and spout read as wings and beak, engraved lines define feathers and eyes, and the coloured engobe and glaze bring the creature to life with warmth and wit rather than realism.
This is a particularly early expression of a subject Picasso would return to again and again — meaning it captures the moment the owl motif entered his visual vocabulary, before it became a signature theme. Each example in the edition of 200 is a variant in design and color, so no two pitchers are identical, adding a layer of individuality that’s unusual even within Picasso’s ceramic output. The piece is stamped “Madoura Plein Feu” and “Edition Picasso” to the underside, marks that confirm its authenticity as an original Picasso ceramic executed at the Madoura workshop in Vallauris.
For a collector, this pitcher offers Picasso at his most playful and personal — a beloved subject captured near its origin, in a small-scale, tactile form where his humor and affection for the animal are immediately legible, with the individuality of a true variant edition.