Ring made by Pablo Picasso to appease angry lover to sell for more than €500,000 at auction

A PICASSO ring designed by the artist to appease his angry lover is expected to fetch more than €500,000 at auction this month.

The Malagueño artist made it for fellow painter and muse Dora Maar after she tossed her own ring into the River Seine during an argument in the 1930s.

Picasso had chided her for persuading him to swap an art piece for a ruby ring, so she ripped it off his finger and tossed it into the water where it may well remain to this day.

The oval apology ring features a portrait of Maar done in ink and colored pencil on paper, set in a tiny metal frame decorated with enamel flowers. It will go up for auction on June 21 at the Sotheby’s Actual Size sale.

Curator Thomas Bompard said: “Picasso has depicted a world on a scale so intimate you can hold an entire artistic vision on your finger.
“Sometimes the smallest of things can contain a universe of thought and emotion, and so it is with this ring – an intimate piece that allows us a captivating glimpse into secrets that might otherwise not be shared.”

The auction  of the piece follows the sale of Maar’s estate.

It is expected to fetch at least €560,000.