Lladro Kitty & Frog

LLADR PORCELAIN FIGURINE - "KITTY CONFRONTATION" / "EL GATO Y LA RANA", SCULPTED BY JUAN HUERTA, ISSUED 1983 AND RETIRED 1991, WITH ORIGINAL BOX The twelfth Lladr piece from this estate and one of the best subjects in the group. A gray and white kitten crouches low along a flowered oval base, tail curled up, nose to nose with a small green frog perched at the end of the base, the whole comic standoff modeled in one piece. The base is worked with a generous spray of hand-applied blossoms in pink, cream, coral, and white with gray-green leaves, and the piece is finished in a bright gloss glaze in the soft Lladr palette. The underside carries the blue printed LLADR backstamp reading HAND MADE IN SPAIN with a DAISA copyright dated 1984, along with impressed factory characters that are only partly legible. It comes with its original older-style pale blue Lladr carton printed with the bell-flower logo, LLADR, VALENCIA - ESPAA, and the paired lines LEGITIMA PORCELANA LLADRO and GENUINE LLADRO PORCELAIN, with the original white foam insert. Approximately 5 inches long. The box is heavily taped and worn and two photographs of the piece came out badly out of focus. Sold as one figurine with its original box. Description Lladr hand-painted glazed porcelain figurine of a kitten in a crouched stalking pose stretched out along a shallow oval base, chest and chin dropped low, hindquarters up, tail raised and curling forward over the back. Coat painted soft gray over the head, back, flanks, and tail with a white chest, belly, muzzle, and paws, the face turned down and forward with the ears flattened toward the frog. A small green frog sits at the far end of the base facing the cat, modeled in pale green with a lightly mottled back, the confrontation the piece is named for. Shallow oval base glazed pale cream and gray-green with modeled ground texture, carrying a large cluster of hand-applied five-petal blossoms in pink, coral, cream, and white with gray-green leaves and buds across the front edge and a second smaller flower cluster behind the cat's shoulders. The underside is marked with the blue printed Lladr bell-flower logo and LLADR, with smaller lines reading HAND MADE IN SPAIN and a copyright line that reads DAISA 1984, together with impressed characters that appear to read M and a three-digit number followed by additional numerals, which are too shallow and too obliquely lit in the photograph to quote with confidence. No impressed or printed model number is legible in any photograph, so no model number is claimed for this lot. A small round paper factory dot printed with a numeral is visible on the side of the base. Original box included, an older-style pale blue Lladr carton with a printed decorative scroll border, the bell-flower logo, LLADR, VALENCIA - ESPAA, and the paired Spanish and English lines LEGITIMA PORCELANA LLADRO / COMPRUEBE LA MARCA IMPRESA EN LA BASE / RECHACE IMITACIONES and GENUINE LLADRO PORCELAIN / YOU CAN VERIFY BY ITS TRADE MARK ON THE BASE / REFUSE IMITATIONS, with a white foam insert cut for the figure inside and a small printed packing card on the lid flap. This older pale blue box style predates the gray Valencia cartons and the dark blue Collectors Society cartons on the other Lladr lots in this sale, which is consistent with an early 1980s issue. Approximately 5 inches long per the tape-measure photograph, in which the tape lies on the carpet in front of the piece rather than against it, so the length is a close estimate. No vertical tape photograph was taken, so no height is claimed. Bidders should verify all dimensions from the photographs. Attribution note Lladr is the Spanish porcelain house founded by the brothers Juan, Jos, and Vicente Lladr near Valencia in the 1950s. DAISA is the group entity holding the design copyrights, so the DAISA 1984 line in this backstamp is a design copyright date rather than necessarily the year this individual piece was made. Per the consignor's research this model is "Kitty Confrontation", Spanish title "El Gato y La Rana", sculpted by Juan Huerta, issued in 1983 and retired in 1991, so it has been out of production for decades. Juan Huerta was one of the long-serving Lladr sculptors responsible for many of the animal and children subjects of that era. The 1983 issue date, the 1984 DAISA copyright in the mark, and the older pale blue carton style are all consistent with one another. Because no model number is legible on the base or the box in these photographs, the number is not stated here and bidders who need it confirmed should ask before bidding. No representation is made as to secondary-market value, edition size, or whether this is a first-quality or second-quality factory piece. All identification here is read from the marks and packaging visible in these photographs together with the consignor's research, is offered as the consignor's photo-based opinion, and is not guaranteed. Bid on the item as pictured. Condition Used display p