This November, Sotheby’s will offer at auction the celebrated private collection of Picasso ceramics assembled by Lord and Lady Attenborough. Renowned for its quality and prescience, the collection was built with the joy- filled tradition of an annual pilgrimage to the South of France, where Lord Attenborough, his wife Sheila, and their children enjoyed holidays at their summer home, not far from the town of Vallauris. Beginning in 1954 with one of Picasso’s souvenir ashtrays, they spent the next 50 years acquiring many different examples of the artist’s ceramic editions. A casual visit to the Madoura pottery – where Picasso began working in 1949 – developed into a regular event, and, as their collection grew, it followed Picasso's developments in working in the medium of fired clay. Providing an extensive overview of one of the most fruitful periods in Picasso’s career, the sale begins with a work from 1947 and spans pieces which were conceived by the artist over the following 25 years. Comprising 67 lots, and estimated to bring a combined total in the region of £1.5 million, the single-owner auction will take place in London on 22 November 2016.

Séverine Nackers, Sotheby’s Picasso Ceramics Specialist, said: “This is quite simply the best collection of its kind in private hands, infused with the sheer joy that it gave Lord Attenborough and his delight in Picasso’s impish sense of humour. There is no doubt that the appearance of these ceramics on the market, with the distinguished provenance of such a well-loved and respected actor, director and producer as the late Lord Attenborough, will generate a great deal of excitement among collectors anxious to become their next custodians.”*

Michael Attenborough, CBE, said: “Vallauris was a great annual pilgrimage. In those days I remember wrapping pots up in brown paper for the drive back to England. At Old Friars, our family home, there was a huge, long table in the hall and the top surface of it would have four or five Picasso pots and underneath it there would be another four or five. Dad scattered them liberally everywhere; he adored them and just loved their extraordinary combination of beauty and wit.”

Lord Attenborough has recounted how every summer during the 1960s, he and Sheila took their children to a pension in the South of France and, on or around 29th August, they would drive to the Madoura studio to choose his birthday present. Just as Lord Attenborough was immediately enchanted with Picasso's ceramics, he became equally enchanted with the artist on meeting him for the first time, at Madoura in 1963. His recollection speaks volumes: "I think my heart missed a beat – the impact would, I am certain, have been no less had I suddenly found myself face to face with Shakespeare or Beethoven. He was outrageously charming." On this joyous occasion – Lord Attenborough’s 40th birthday, no less – Picasso presented him with a signed photo, and to Sheila, a little terracotta medallion to wear around her neck.

Lord and Lady Attenborough were in many ways pioneers in collecting these ceramics, recognising in them not only Picasso's creative ingenuity but also actively building a collection that was unique for its time. As early as 1984, Lord Attenborough contributed to an exhibition of ‘Original Ceramics by Pablo Picasso’, held at the Nicola Jacobs Gallery in London, with an introduction in the catalogue. Not only has the collection been celebrated since at least that time, but Lord Attenborough’s astute views on Picasso’s body of work in ceramics have also been lauded. He understood that Picasso created these works with the same innovative passion as his paintings, sculptures and prints.

The Attenborough collection includes both editioned and unique works depicting real and mythical creatures, classical motifs, bullfighting scenes, and portraits, each piece epitomising Picasso’s masterful and playful take on the age-old tradition of firing clay.

The passion and confidence of Lord and Lady Attenborough’s collecting was celebrated in Sotheby’s landmark sale, A Life In Pictures: The Collection of Lord and Lady Attenborough, in London in 2009. Exemplars of what it means to be a collector, Lord and Lady Attenborough housed their collection at Old Friars, their family home.