Inveterate Cybis collectors may also be interested in the different display signs that the studio made available to their retailer network. The stores/shops would have purchased these from the studio through their Cybis regional sales representative, and it’s likely that they were on display in the sales reps’ showroom as well.
Update, April 2025: An exciting recent find was the very first known Cybis display sign, dating from the 1950s! It is a 100% typical example of 1950s Cybis: a glazed surface, pink rose, dark-edged leaves, and gold details. The scroll mold is the same one that they were using for their Prayer Scroll seen in the Religious Items post; it is 4″ high.
Here the display sign is shown with a pair of Cybis Shell Vases from the same era.
All of the later Cybis dealer signs were designed by Vincent Ceglia, a noted artist, graphic designer and illustrator. Although Mr. Ceglia did not work at Cybis, he designed the dealer signs as well as a number of Cybis print catalogs and advertising materials during the 1970s.
This first circa-1960s display sign is a porcelain representation of the Cybis signature applied to a wood block shaped as an isosceles triangle. The wood appears to be mahogany in either a lighter or darker stain. It is 4” high and 2” deep.
This 1970s sign marks the transition by Cybis to all-porcelain dealer/display signs. Featuring their horizontal phoenix logo, it stands about 3.25” high, 4” wide, and 2.25” deep.
When Cybis revised its phoenix logo in 1980 they also introduced a display sign to match, priced at $25. It is impressed 1980 in the mold. Dimensions are approximately 4” high, 3.25” wide, and 2″ thick.
Their next dealer sign (probably from the mid or late 1980s) used the older horizontal phoenix logo. Perhaps this was the design that came in second to the rectangular version back in the 1970s. The curvy freeform shape came in two sizes and was made in three color versions and two sizes (4″ high and 2.5″ high.) The white bisque colorway is shown above.
The gold edge trim on the white with gold decoration sign is matte, while that used on the phoenix and Cybis name is glossy. It is 4″ high, about 4.5″ wide, and 1.75″ deep. This sign was probably introduced in either 1989 (to match the gold-decorated sculptures that were being marketed in connection with the Golden Anniversary Year) or the launch of the Collectors Society in 1995. The back of this sign reads: Cybis Porcelain Studio established in 1940 by renowned artist Boleslaw Cybis continues to maintain its traditional artistry in Trenton NJ USA (I think it would have sounded better if “The” had been the first word, but that’s just me being picky!)
This third colorway is decorated entirely in matte finish gold rather than the mix of matte and glossy shown above.
Cybis also made this sign in a mini version as well, as a free gift for those who joined their Collectors Society in 1997 and paid the $55 membership fee. Oddly it does not coordinate with the white/gold color scheme of the club, nor does it have any special marks which all the other club pieces have. This downsized/mini sign is only about 2.5″ high and the back says just Trenton N.J. due to lack of space. It is shown next to the standard size version for comparison.
During the 1990s Cybis began selling their display sign as a retail item; I have found it on three price lists during that decade. Although the lists aren’t illustrated, I am assuming that these were the most recent (freeform) shape. Interestingly the 1993, 1995 and 1999 price lists show three available colorways: white bisque for $50, color (????) for $75, and gold (assuming the gilt trim here) for $100. I have never seen a color-decorated modern-era Cybis sign, so I’m very curious about that. Unfortunately none of the lists give the size of that sign, so we don’t know whether it was the standard or the mini version. No Cybis signs were offered on their circa-early-2000s website.
Name Index of Cybis Sculptures
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