Highly collectable Ceramic art, porcelain figurines. Manufactured in Valencia, Spain. The company was founded in 1953 by three brothers, Juan, José and Vicente Lladró, in the village of Almàssera near Valencia. Starting with items such as vases and jugs, it wasn't until 1956 that they started producing the sculptures for which they are now most famous. Enthusiasm for the items produced by the Lladró brothers saw their small workshop expand several times until eventually they moved to Tavernes Blanques in 1958. In The Sopranos, Carmela Soprano boasts about her Lladró figurine in "Everybody Hurts" (season 4 episode 6). In the episode "Chasing It" (season 6 episode 16), Carmela breaks the figurine by throwing it at Tony Soprano.