A Spanish Tradition
It’s been 66 years, but Lladró’s passion for porcelain still burns.
Lladró has come far since its humble birth. Today, it maintains an image of true and trusted artisanship
within each piece.
FIFTEEN MINUTES FROM the centre of Valencia in Tavernes Blanques is a place where time prefers to move at an unhurried pace. That place belongs to Lladró, a legendary Spanish heritage house best known for its romantic porcelain figurines, lamps, jewellery and hallmark milky pastel shades.
The brand was bounded in 1953 by three brothers, Juán, José and Vicente Lladró, and it wasn’t until
1956 when they started producing the sculptures that they are now famous for. Many limited editions have become sought-after collectors’ items, such as A Grand Adventure train sculpture, which sells for US$47,000. Michael Jackson and Lauren Bacall have owned some of its most exclusive pieces. This sort of success came to the brothers as a surprise; they had spent their childhood on a farm and dabbled with pottery in the family’s backyard.
For the past 66 years, the family-owned company has flourished, even with minimal advertising. It’s a stickler for tradition, spending more time on word-ofmouth to stay relevant and making everything by hand. Each item that’s stamped with its name is proudly made in Spain, at its only factory in Valencia. Lladró’s craft captivates with its delicacy and romanticism, and often the simplicity and soft tones belie the hours of laborious workmanship that go into every model.
From etching to painting, its team of expert sculptors and craftsmen execute with meticulousness and a conscious effort to keep every ancestral technique alive. The start of every piece begins with a pair of hands, set of traditional tools and the sculptor’s inspiration, though sometimes, a guest designer comes into play. Sketching or live modelling will be involved, and once the clay has been given shape, the exciting bit begins. The technical team will need to come in to visualise and define the fragments that make up each piece; the creations can be so complex that they have to be broken down into as many as 400 fragments. Cinderella’s Arrival (US$38,500), for instance, requires more than 200 fragments, while the simple figure of a child may require only six.
That brings us to the first reproduction of the various parts in alabaster, a mighty resistant material that’s soft enough for carving even the smallest of details. These will all form the basis for the die set to create the moulds, which are later filled with liquid porcelain that slowly sets within. Once set, it is important that the artist extracts the parts with utmost caution, before recomposing them all like a puzzle. Each piece is fired separately and melded together by hand with a special porcelain-based liquid.
Moulds aren’t always used. Flowers, one of Lladró’s signature elements, require specialised artists to make and set by hand, so each flower is unique, right down to the last petal. A steady hand is also necessary in the final creative phase, where over 4,000 colours and various finishes are used. The entire process, from the birth of an idea to when the pieces are fired, can take as long as five years. Feels like a century, but all good things take time and Lladró is a testament to that.
Many limited editions have become sought-after
collectors’ items.