The Cybis studio created two very different sets of lithographs (reproductions) of drawings originally done in the 1930s by Boleslaw Cybis. One set is the well known Folio One set of Native American portraits; that set is illustrated and documented in the studio's catalogs published during the 1970s. The other set is far less known [...]
Category: Giftware & Home Décor
Another Pair of Ornate Cybis Female-Handle Mugs
The very unusual pair of Cybis lady-handle mugs discovered last year were by no means the only ones that were made, after all. While the previous pair were signed M.B. Cybis, this second pair is signed simply Cybis in the same blue paint. Many thanks to the Archive reader who contacted me with photos of [...]
1940s Cybis, Part 3: Spatterware and Historical Reproductions
The third category of 1940s Cybis items, and possibly the smallest in terms of actual production, is their reproductions of 19th-century tableware. Produced for only about five years (ca. 1948-1953) these were quite different from anything else produced under either the Cybis or Cordey branding. They can be generally divided into three groups: lusterware, spatterware, [...]
1940s Cybis Porcelain, Part 2: Retail Items
The items that were offered as 1940s retail pieces by Boleslaw Cybis' studio were almost all done in conventional porcelain rather than the clay/plaster 'papka' material seen in 1940s Part One. The retail designs were in many cases a mixture of traditional Old World European and artistic interpretation (albeit not as 'unusual' as much of [...]
The Cybis Holiday Bells (and Three Ornaments)
In addition to their 1990s series of Twelve Days of Christmas and four 1980s angel ornaments Cybis also produced several holiday themed porcelain bells. One series was designed as a tree ornament and the other series was not. The first in this design genre was the Christmas Bell, originally issued in the 1950s and still [...]
The Cybis Comanche Chief Medallion
The small white bisque medallion originally designed to accent the facing page of the Cybis Folio One collection of Native American lithographs was given several subsequent 'second lives' as a separate retail item. This medallion design is a rendition of the Comanche 'Indomitable Spirit' portrait drawing by Boleslaw Cybis. At the time of issue of [...]
Cybis ‘Folio One’ Native American Indian Portrait Drawings
The only non-porcelain retail offering from the Cybis studio was a 1970s art issue called the Folio One. This was a limited edition reproduction series taken from nine conté drawings of Native Americans made by Boleslaw Cybis in 1939. Conté is the name of a type of crayon made of compressed charcoal or graphite mixed [...]
Tranquility Base ‘Apollo 11 Moon Mission’ by Cybis
It is now 47 years since a human first stepped onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969 while the world watched in wonderment. This historic event was commemorated by the Cybis porcelain studio the following spring with a limited edition sculpture. Named Tranquility Base 'Apollo 11 Moon Mission', it was an edition [...]
Born In the USA: Cybis Patriotic Sculptures
As befits America’s oldest* porcelain art studio, Cybis produced 17 sculptures that celebrated the history and patriotism of the United States. Some were portraits, some were representations of our national bird, and some were giftware items. They appear below in order of retail introduction within each of those categories. Portraits The first Cybis patriotic portrait [...]
Cybis Giftware Items
Cybis Porcelain had a long history of making giftware items, dating all the way back to the first decade of the Cybis operation. (The Cybis vases, wedding-themed items and decorative eggs appear in their own separate posts.) Boxes One of the earliest known boxes has one of the less common Cybis signatures: This 7" x [...]
THE CYBIS ARCHIVE 