Lladró

The Spanish company Lladró is famous for its porcelain figurines of people and animals. Lladró is founded in 1953 by three brothers and they started out by making ceramic vases and jugs. In 1956 Lladró starts making figurines and they quickly gain popularity. The company expands and in 1969 there are over 2000 employees working for the factory. Lladro figurines are designed by a team of designers including Antonio Ramos, Fulgencio Garcia, Francisco Polope, José Puche, Juan Huerta, Julio Fernández, Regino Torrijos, Salvador Debon, Salvador Furió and Vicente Martinez. A specific series within Lladró is Nao by Lladró, this series goes back to the origins of the figurines. Worldwide, there are many Lladró collectors and some figurines can be very very valuable. In a large extent this depends on the rarity of the figurine, the early Lladró figurines are very popular, as well as the figurines that were only sold to members. Since there were not so many members in the early years, these can be extremely rare. Lladró also makes larger limited editions figurines or better sculptures and the selling price of these is already high. Over the years, the price often increases. At art and antiques auctions you regularly come across a Lladró figurine, often the ones that are made in mass but sometimes there are rare figurines in auction.