SNAKES VASE BLACK GOLD

The snake has fascinated human cultures for longer than written history records. In Ancient Egypt it was a symbol of royalty and divine protection; in Greece, a sign of medicine and renewal; in the East, an emblem of wisdom, cyclical time, and elemental power; in pre-Columbian America, a god of the cosmos. It is one of the few symbols that arouses imagination, fear, and reverence simultaneously — and in almost every culture that has given it meaning, it has never been merely a creature. It has always been a sign.

The Lladro Snakes collection, designed by Robert Schnyder and sculpted by Raul Rubio, channels that weight into a contemporary decorative object. This SNAKES VASE BLACK GOLD is the collection’s formal statement in its simplest and most resolved form: the pure, almost architectural geometry of the vessel in counterpoint with the fluid, organic movement of the serpent that wraps it.

Contrast as Concept

The design premise is one of deliberate opposition. The vase itself is matte black — austere, unadorned, stripping away any decorative impulse in favour of clean vertical lines and a considered silhouette. Against that restraint, the snake animal sculpture is applied in golden metallic luster, catching light with every shift in viewing angle. The contrast between the two surfaces — matte absorbed darkness against reflective gold — mirrors the contrast between the stillness of the vessel and the implied movement of the serpent. Schnyder and Rubio have built the conceptual tension directly into the material finish. Three distinct surface treatments — matte, gloss, and metallic luster — coexist in a single object without conflict.

Specifications

• Designer: Robert Schnyder
• Sculptor: Raul Rubio
• Collection: Snakes
• Material: Glazed porcelain
• Finish: Matte, gloss, and metallic luster
• Color: Black and gold
• Height: 16.535 in
• Width: 9.449 in
• Depth: 9.843 in
• Weight: 9.37 lb
• Origin: Handcrafted in Spain by Lladró

A 2023 Piece Designed for Permanent Display

At over 16 inches tall and nearly 10 inches in depth, this is a vase that anchors rather than decorates — it is the thing a room is arranged around, not the thing placed last. The black-and-gold palette integrates with almost any interior language: it reads as luxury against warm-toned rooms and as tension against lighter, neutral spaces. The insurance inclusion reflects the level at which Lladró regards it. Functional as a vase art sculptures for sale and entirely resolved as a sculptural object, it works in either role — or both at once.