Please help identify Lladro Geisha

[thepearlyqueen]

Could someone please identify this Lladro Geisha for me? I'm guessing that she's current, not retired, but I may be wrong. I've looked through 1000's of pics on Google, aretiredcollection.com, and the Lladro website but no luck. I'd like to be able to give her a name and number when I list her.

Many thanks to anyone who can help! 🙂

Linda

[maxine*j]

There is quite a bit of fake Llardro out there now, so if you cannot find your piece after all that research, including looking on the official LLardro website, you may have a counterfiet 

Take a look at the page linked to below, at the Llardro website, which gives some information on how to tell genuine pieces. 

Also note, on that same page, that Llardo will authenticate.  It says, "If you still have doubts about the authenticity of your figurine, please send the reference number and a photograph of its base to our Consumer Relations Department and we will be delighted to certify its authenticity for you.

http://www.lladro.com/porcelain/faq_producto/

Good luck, and I hope you do have the real deal.

[nova7000]

Here's a site showing the Lladro marks
http://www.theprudentcollector.com/lladro_marks.html

Here's your mark compared to the real thing:

[nova7000]

See how the real thing is easily read, well defined and centered compared to yours? The mark on yours looks all wrong. It's sloppy, unreadable, and the spacing is off. All the marks i've seen, including on the Lladros I own, are easily read even the smallest letters. Also, all the Lladros i've seen have the figure number impressed into the bottom along with other marks. I can't see any on yours but i'm not sure if they've always done that. So as the other post mentions, just send a larger photo of the bottom to Lladro and they'll tell you for sure.

[citrine146]

Found the base too deep too and the finish somewhat rough.

Best to refer your Lladro piece to the company as suggested.

[thepearlyqueen]

Thank you! I should have paid more attention to the mark, seems now that it should have been pretty obvious! Oh, well....this has definitely been a learning experience. 

I sent an inquiry with photos to Lladro a few minutes ago (US office), as advised. It'll be interesting to see the reply. 

What confused me the most was the quality of the piece...I appreciate the input, too, about the depth of the base and slight roughness, which I didn't see. It's a pity that a counterfeit could be even this close, though. I imagine most buyers (certainly casual buyers, like someone just looking for a gift) would  accept it  as legit. That's a shame.

I wonder where/by whom it was made? Maybe Lladro will be able to tell me...or maybe they don't care to share that sort of info. 

Just for interest...husband and I spent a year in China a few years back, while he was working an engineering contract. The joke was that if you wanted to buy an antique or collectible of some sort you could just mention it to a market trader and within days (at most) it'd be available. Sometimes obviously a fake, but often enough it'd be at least visually darn close. Lots of 'patina'!  Enough so there was a thriving market. I guess it's a skill in itself, but dangerous even so.

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it!

Linda

[thepearlyqueen]

Hi! Here's the reply I got from Lladro (US).

U-1887447 

Dear Mrs Russell, 

First of all thank you for your interest in our creations. 

After checking the photos you kindly sent us we cannot confirm the authenticity of your sculpture. We haven't been able 
to identify your sculpture in our records. Could be a no-catalogued sculpture but since we do not have any information 
about it we cannot assure its authenticity. 

Sorry for not be of help this time. We remain at your disposal should you need further assistance. 

Patricia Bayarri 
Customer Care 

Oof. What's a 'no-catalogued' sculpture?

I still need to post the piece on ebay, and was thinking that my only option was to list it as a 'reproduction' , or some similar wording. It's confusing to have this second option! And definitely not what I expected.

Does anyone know whether 'non-catalogued' is a common sort of status? And how on earth do you post something like this?

I'm definitely getting older and wider - not necessarily wiser 😉  😉 

Thanks again;

Linda

[maxine*j]

That's a professional, polite, and gentle way to tell you the piece is not Llardro. 

[argon38 · Accepted solution]

@thepearlyqueen wrote:

I still need to post the piece on ebay, and was thinking that my only option was to list it as a 'reproduction' , or some similar wording.

It isn't an authorized reproduction of anything in the Lladró catalogue. It's a fake.

Not Allowed

Sellers are not allowed to:

• List items that aren't authentic

https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/authenticity-disclaimers.html

Couldn't you permanently obliterate the fake Lladró mark somehow and just sell it for its decorative value? If it's simply a sculpture in the Lladró style and not a direct rip-off of an actual design then you'd probably get away with this. But the last thing you want to do is give any impression in your listing that it might be an authentic Lladró piece - that's a guaranteed recipe for unhappy buyers, returns, and negative feedback.

[thepearlyqueen]

Ah! I never was much good at reading between the lines...;-)

I asked for a 'yes' or a 'no', and expected a 'no', which would have been preferable to any sort of equivocation. Live and learn, huh?

I appreciate your insight, thank you!

Linda

[thepearlyqueen]

Good point (and pretty obvious!) - if there's nothing in the Lladro catalog then it can't be a 'reproduction'.  'In the style of' is the only accurate term. And it has to be accurate.

Thank you for the education!