Drum Roll!!! Here he is! This is THE Picasso Bear. One of the most famous prototypes in the entire hobby. The color on this bear is unmatched and is utterly unique – not like any other tie-dyed piece. “Multi-Paint” as Becky described.
This bear also came out of the proto gate 2004-2005 wave. The piece is interesting on a multitude of levels. The bear itself has a pax hang tag, from one of the final years Ty used the Pax company, before they rebranded to Advent hang tags. The date on the piece is 3/8/2001 – so technically, the piece is not extremely old by way of the original line. Its level of completeness and vibrancy, and “filled”ness is really striking. The bear is completely “finished” and appears to be of an ultra high quality.
The bear was originally in a lot with other ultra high-end prototype teddies including the “Dollar Bear” and the “Shaggy Bear” (posts on these coming soon!). The piece ended up with an extremely serious collector – a dentist!, who kept the piece tucked away for about 12 years. Her six figure collection was disbanded and the piece was secured and relocated to another forever home. This dear collector unfortunately passed away unexpectedly, so the bear popped up once more and landed instantly into a new forever home. But you get the idea – this bear does not part from owners with ease.
Rarity Rank: -1. We are giving this piece the coveted -1 rank because it checks off almost every box in prototype land. While technically it isn’t super vintage (but still older than pieces like the Chef Bear, Coral Casino etc.), and technically is a prototype for an unreleased style, this bear oozes WOW. Having personally had this bear in our hands, there is also an unexplainable, intangible pull with this piece. This bear is a sort of madness piece. It has driven many collectors nutty in their pursuit to secure it. We understand why – it’s an easy piece to fall in love with. If this piece ever surfaced, there are about a half dozen collectors we believe who would “do what was necessary” to secure the piece. Grab some popcorn ahead of that show…
Rarest Beans 