Picasso plate going up for auction

A silver plate designed by Picasso goes under the hammer in Canterbury next week with an estimate of between £25,000 and £30,000.

Called Visage Geometrique and made in 1956, it is stamped with his signature and the mark of silversmiths Francois and Pierre Hugo and is one of just 20 made.

Also being auctioned is an important group of nine medals awarded to a cavalryman who charged with Kitchener’s 21st Lancers at the bloody Battle of Omdurman in 1898.

Earned by Pte (later Sgt) A. E. Keane, they include the Distinguished Conduct Medal given in 1916 along with other prized medals from his extraordinary service. They are being sold by his great nephew, who lives in Whitstable.

Sgt Keane subsequently wrote a chilling account of the 1898 battle, which he sent home and forms part of the collection with photographs of himself with his wife and children and in his military police uniform.

The collection, which includes his silver pocket watch and vesta case, will be offered at Canterbury Auction Galleries during its three day sale, starting next Tuesday, and is estimated at £2,000 to £3,000.

The Picasso plate, valued at up to £30,000, and the collection of medals are both being auctioned next week