A Picasso among old tableware in the second-hand shop

Second-Hand Shop Antwerp seems to have an uncanny knack for top artists. Just a few months ago, it discovered a work by James Ensor among the donated items, and now it has found a real Picasso!

Proceeds from auction go to social employment

Observant staff at the Antwerp second-hand shop found a white earthenware dish with the stamp ‘Empreinte Originale de Picasso’ among the regular donations. The relief design featuring a bullfight was created on March 11, 1953, and produced in an edition of two hundred pieces. The dish is made of white earthenware, with brown-green decor in engobe, enamel, and oxidised paraffin. On the back, both the ‘Madoura Plein Feu’ and ‘Empreinte Originale de Picasso’ stamps can be found, according to the Second-Hand Shop. The remarkable dish featuring a design by Picasso was auctioned on April 6 for a staggering 12,600 euros. The proceeds from the Picasso dish will be invested in social employment through training, guidance, and custom-made workplaces.

And this was not the first remarkable find for this second-hand shop.

An employee of Second-Hand Shop Antwerp went through some items donated to the shop in September and unexpectedly came across an intriguing artwork. Since she had recently visited the museum of James Ensor in Ostend, she found the resemblance to the work brought into the shop striking. After contacting Auction House Bernaerts and experts from the KMSKA, it turned out to be a print of Le Meuble Hanté or The Enchanted Furniture from 1888. Second-Hand Shop Antwerp decided to donate the work to the KMSKA. The value of the etching is estimated to be between 1,000 and 6,000 euros.

(SR - Source: Nieuwsblad/Second-Hand Shop - Illustration: ©Unsplash)