The most important elements in authenticating a sculpture that appears, or is claimed, to be Cybis involve the painting/decoration, mold impressions, and applied marks. Painting and Decoration This is the subtlest factor in determining whether a piece of Cybis is genuine and is the most challenging to master. The more Cybis sculptures one sees (if [...]
Author: The Cybis Archive
Everything you ever wanted to know about Cybis porcelain, in one place: cybisarchive dot com (This is not a commercial site, and there are no ads or pop-ups. Ever.)
Authenticating Cybis Porcelain – Part One
Some observers and/or collectors of Cybis may be puzzled by the appearance of pieces that appear to be Cybis but lack (or present in a different form) one or more of the typical Cybis attributes. Some of these sculptures derive from molds that were available to the entire ceramics market (as described in When Is [...]
When is a Cybis Not a Cybis?
Recently I decided to investigate why certain Cybis porcelain sculptures seemingly appear so often as knockoffs/copies. The answer involves the Cybis studio, another Trenton company, and of course the question of copyright. Polish immigrant Boleslaw Cybis operated his studio – first as the Cordey China Company and ultimately as Cybis – beginning in the early [...]
The Cybis Decorative Eggs
Cybis produced a variety of decorative porcelain eggs from the 1950s through the 1980s. All of them were non-limited editions. Egg Boxes The 1971 Cybis in Retrospect exhibit catalog mentions this Egg Box that was produced from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. It is described there as being 4" high, and this one is [...]
The Cybis Collectors Society, Discovered
When the Cybis porcelain studio decided to begin selling sculptures directly to the public in the 1990s, they decided to also follow the 'collectors club' trend as well. In October 1994, the studio sent this mailing to collectors on their contact lists: The annual fee would be $55, unless the person decided to pre-order the [...]
Cybis Porcelain Research and Resources
A sad fact of life about Cybis porcelain has been the dearth of resources available to those looking for information about their sculptures – hence the need for the very comprehensive reference 'encyclopedia' that you are now perusing! However, it's worth reviewing the alternative-format and previous research sources as well. Many mainstream collectibles companies established [...]
Cybis Hall of Fame Editions
In the autumn of 1990 the Cybis studio introduced a new collection called the ‘Hall of Fame’ editions, which are downsized replicas of selected sculptures that were completed or retired in the past. Because of the positive buyer response to the original sculptures, Cybis made the decision to sidestep their longstanding “never to be issued [...]
Cybis Signatures and Marks
This chronological review of the various signatures and marks appearing on Cybis porcelain sculptures may be useful when trying to “date” or verify the authenticity of a given piece. Sculptures that were created during the 1940s transitional period (from Cordey to Cybis) can present challenges because some of the signature styles or colors used at [...]
Making Sense of the Cybis Editions
You might see any of the following words used to describe Cybis pieces: Open, Completed, Retired, Special Edition, Event Piece, Limited Edition, Special Commission, Gift of State, or Artist’s Proof. What do they all mean? OPEN EDITION (a/k/a non-limited edition): An Open edition was introduced and then continued to be produced until Cybis decided to [...]
Name Index of Cybis Porcelain Sculptures
Because the Cybis studio never put the actual name of a sculpture onto the piece itself, proper identification can sometimes be a challenge. This is a list of all the Cybis porcelains that are illustrated and/or mentioned in this website. The Cybis retail name/title of many of the 1950s pieces is unknown; those pieces are [...]
THE CYBIS ARCHIVE 