Madoura Pottery Glazed Earthenware Têtes Pitcher signed Pablo Picasso

This Madoura Pottery glazed earthenware Têtes pitcher, signed by Pablo Picasso and created in France circa 1953, encapsulates the artist’s playful yet radical reimagining of everyday objects, transforming a humble vessel into a dynamic sculptural canvas alive with personality. Crafted at the famed Madoura studio in Vallauris, where Picasso embarked on his prolific ceramic explorations, the pitcher features stylized facial motifs that wrap around its curved body, the spout and handle subtly integrated into the composition so that the object itself seems to morph into a living head. The glazed surface, with its confident lines, rich tonal contrasts, and deliberate, almost improvisational brushwork, bears the unmistakable spontaneity of Picasso’s hand, as though the drawing has been pulled taut over the three-dimensional form. Both intimate and iconic, this piece reflects the artist’s fascination with ancient pottery, folk art, and the human visage, yet it remains distinctly modern in its abstraction and wit. As a functional object re-envisioned as a work of fine art, the Têtes pitcher embodies Picasso’s belief that there was no boundary between art and life, standing today as a vivid testament to his restless creativity and to the enduring collaboration between the artist and the Madoura atelier. In Excellent Vintage Condition, and signed by the artist on the undersurface.

France, C. 1953

Dimensions:

Height: 5 in (12.7 cm) x Diameter: 6 in (15.24 cm)

Creator: Pablo Picasso (Maker)

Style: Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques: Earthenware

Place of Origin: France

Period: 1950-1959

Date of Manufacture: circa 1953

Condition: Excellent