Carved pendant

Necklace of Picasso's muse heads to auction

The piece has been exhibited in great museums and is expected to bring $15k

Francoise Gilot is an artist and author who is best known for being the lover and muse of Pablo Picasso, and the father of his children.

Necklace by Francoise Gilot

Gilot's relationship with the much older Picasso lasted from 1942-53, and she later described their life together in a bestselling book, despite Picasso's objections.

Some art works by Gilot have come up for sale at Christie's in an auction which will take place on March 10.

The most intriguing of these is perhaps a necklace which has a carved stone pendant in the form of an owl joined to a necklace of various metal, bone and stone beads.

The oval pebble clasp which joins the purple cord has pink painted details.

It has previously been exhibited at London's Victoria & Albert Museum, and also at the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Here, it is estimated at $10,000-15,000.

Those who cannot reach the sale, which takes place in New York, may be interested to know that a self-portrait by Gilot is currently available.

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Images: Christie's