Watusi Queen; Lladró, c. 1980.

Queen Watusi; Lladró, c. 1980.
Polychrome porcelain.
Designed by Salvador Furió and painted by Julio Ruiz.
Signed on the base.
Measurements: 60 x 34 x 25 cm.
This work represents the queen Watusi, queen of a Tanzanian tribe of Egyptian origin. The work of exceptional quality presents us with a sculptural ensemble starring a young woman accompanied by a boy holding a drum between his legs. The piece stands out for the great technical virtuosity that is evident through details such as the cloth that covers part of the protagonist, or the skin on which the young man sits. The Lladró firm of artistic ceramics and porcelain was founded in 1953 by the brothers Juan, José and Vicente Lladró, who created their first pieces with an experimental vocation, in a Moorish oven built in their own home in Almàssera, Valencia. In this way they gave vent to their artistic restlessness while working in a tile and tableware factory. In 1958 the three brothers decided to dedicate themselves exclusively to their own production, and moved their small business to the neighboring town of Tabernes Blanques. By this time, the demand for Lladró creations reached unexpected dimensions. The brothers introduced innovations not only in the design and style of the figures, but also in the firing techniques, managing to reduce firing from three stages to one. Single firing is a pioneering method that makes it possible to obtain the crystalline finish and pastel shades typical of Lladró pieces. A growing number of sculptors, chemists and decorators multiplied the work of the founders, and by the end of the fifties the first Lladró store was opened in Valencia. In the following decade, the company's exporting vocation began to take on importance, and the firm entered the Canadian and American markets.