In its 70th year now, Spain-born Lladró — a brand that explores the creative potential of porcelain through handcrafted sculptures — is expanding its range The Spirit of India with new limited-edition idols inspired by Hindu mythology. It is also opening its second-largest store in India today at MG Road, New Delhi.
The range, launched in 2000, has evolved in the aspect of design with its latest offering, two new poetic sculptures: a high porcelain Radha Krishna on a Swing (limited edition of 399 units), and the Ram Darbar in golden re-deco matte finish, symbolic of love, friendship, devotion and a happy family.
A conversation with the brand’s creative director Nieves Contrares gives a peek into all that goes into the making of these sculptures, from the conception of the idea and design research to how the final product is pieced together. Nieves, who is visiting India to study the culture and heritage of the country for the brand’s next project, says working with high porcelain is a complicated and elaborate process.
“It takes almost a year-and-a-half to develop a sculpture. We make our own porcelain, colours, and glazes. The original model is cast in clay, which is soft and is then translated into a plaster model that allows us to make moulds. One piece is made of several moulds. For instance, it took 60 moulds to make Radha Krishna on a swing,” says Nieves.
The process of curating a sculpture at Lladró begins with research. The Spirit of India range was born after the brand’s team made several trips to India and studied its history . Nieves says, Lladró’s artists, mostly Spanish, have a fascination for iconography. “Lladró has always been talking about stories and emotions; for us, taking inspiration and paying homage to the Hindu spiritual imagery is wholesome and rich. We started with gods and goddesses and went on to make pieces inspired by spiritual leaders like Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi to express universal emotions and values. In the case of Hindu pieces, it allows us to make elaborate sculptures and bring craftsmanship of porcelain to the highest level,” she explains.
The muted, pastel-shaded figurines, adorned with intricate details, from floral arrangement to fine jewellery, are marked with European aesthetics when it comes to features — like the hazel-eyed Krishna and blue-eyed Radha. Nieves says, “The brand’s teams in India visit temples to gather information and we also consult a Hindu priest with whom we share the process of creating the sculpture. We share sketches to see if we are correctly translating the symbols. We also discuss colours, jewellery, etc.” For the Radha-Krishna sculpture, Nieves shares that the brand’s team consulted the religious organisation International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and visited Vrindavan. “The process is so elaborate that we have specific teams to make flowers; for example, each flower petal is made by hand and then positioned on the piece. There’s a separate mould for the arm, and head. Before firing them, we piece them together and apply 24k gold and petals etc. Most pieces go to the kiln two-three times,” she shares.
The Radha Krishna is priced at ₹7.5 lakh and each piece of Ram Darbar costs ₹50,000, while the set is priced at ₹2.25 lakh. The sculptures are available across Lladró’s seven boutiques in India at Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai.
