Picasso: Attracted to the medium after a visit to a pottery

Some other lots at the 14 March auction, including a cream-coloured glazed bowl entitled Sylvette, and a series of terracotta tiles engraved with primitive bullfight scenes, are offered with similar presale price estimates.

At the other extreme, another set of terra cotta tiles depicting a bullfight, called Corride aux Pointill�s, carries a pre-sale estimate of �20,000 to �30,000.

Not all the works were made by Picasso's hand, but all were made under the artist's close supervision, in limited editions of between 20 and 500.

The works were made after Picasso's 1946 visit to the annual ceramics exhibition held in Vallauris on the C�te d'Azur.

Some works were only produced under Picasso's "observation"

While he was at the Madoura pottery, he made two pieces, returning a year later with sketches to make a series of artefacts with the pottery's owners.

Picasso married the shapes of his pottery and ceramic works to themes he was fond of, particularly representations of animals and bullfight scenes.

Sotheby's said it is expecting many private collectors, including some people bidding for their first work of art, at the sale on 14 March.

Picasso, born in Spain in 1881, was without question one of the most influential visual artists of the 20th century and his work usually fetches high prices at auction.

He died in 1973.