Return to La Mancha

Country: Spain

Manufactory: Lladro

Date of establishment: 1988

Sculptor: Salvador Furió

Size (cm): 33*95

Limited Series

Porcelain Story

Many years ago, when I first saw this amazing composition in Valencia, I did not even try to dream that someday it would be in our collection. I remember that I could not tear my eyes away from each character of the unusual plot, from every detail of the multifaceted picture of the last journey of the hidalgo Don Quixote home, to his native La Mancha.

In this work, the ''knight of a sad image'', as Cervantes so delightfully described his beloved hero, does not even look like a knight. Already a middle-aged man, tired of long military campaigns, the eternal struggle with windmills and ardent love for the lady of his heart, Dulcinea of ??Toboso, is sitting in an old large wagon, slowly conversing with a faithful squire. And trailing behind on a small donkey, Sancho Panza, and the knightly battle horse Rocinante walking nearby (in principle, an ordinary dead nag, which a generous owner once awarded the high title of ''the best nag in the world''), and knightly armor carelessly dumped in a wagon , and bulls dejectedly wandering after the driver on foot - this whole picture evokes some kind of peace and humility. The wars are left behind, and ahead is the long-awaited home marina, where everything is predictable, familiar and convenient. For the first time in many years of frantic struggle...

Possession of such a rare porcelain composition (truly huge - almost a meter long!) seemed to me at that time absolutely impossible, because such items end up in collectors' collections immediately after their birth and very rarely then ''emerge'' on some random sales. But His Majesty Chance was once ordered to give me such an opportunity - and for many years now, every time I leave home for work or go on a long journey, I pass by this wonderful work. And returning home, every time I also look at Don Quixote in the cart. And one does not get tired of admiring either the skill of the sculptor or the warmth of the plot. Would you believe that?