One of the most rewarding aspects of creating and maintaining this site is discovering the story behind ‘mystery sculptures’ – those that never appeared in any Cybis publications, advertising, or retail stores. Typically they pop up unexpectedly on eBay or within a query from an Archive reader; but one in particular puzzled me for several [...]
Category: People (figures & busts)
Visual Index of Cybis Porcelain Human Figures and Busts
If you have not been able to identify a Cybis human-figure sculpture because you do not know its name and thus cannot find it in the Name Index, this page should be able to help. IMPORTANT! BEFORE YOU EXAMINE THE VISUAL INDEX, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR FIGURE IS NOT SHOWN [...]
Cybis ‘First Flight’, Times Four (and a half)
One of the fascinating aspects of chronicling Cybis Porcelain sculptures is how often a piece that appears simple and straightforward can turn out to have a complicated ‘life story.’ Take, for example, the one known to most collectors as First Flight. There are four known versions of this design – if versions is indeed the [...]
‘Birth/Nativity at Lowicz’ Mother and Baby by Cybis
Most Cybis collectors are familiar with the piece colloquially known as The Polish Bride, which was based on a 1929/1930 oil painting by Boleslaw Cybis, but until recently I was unaware that the studio produced a second sculpture based on a different, but strikingly similar, painting. The circumstances surrounding the second sculpture were a little [...]
Cybis ‘Magic Boy’: A Study in Changes and Differences
A recent observation by a sharp-eyed Archive reader regarding the sculpture Cree Indian ‘Magic Boy’ and its two Cybis editions has blossomed into a fascinating in-depth examination of this particular piece’s production history. It turns out that this design has had a rather unique ‘life story’ in several respects! The first unusual thing about ‘Magic [...]
1940s Female Busts by Cybis – Variations on a Theme
The liquidation of the Cybis studio’s backstock in 2019 brought to light a collection of female (lady head) busts made during the 1940s. These fell into two general categories: (a) papka and/or mixed media prototypes or one of a kind designs, and (b) busts that were cast from a basic head/neck mold and then variously [...]
An Intriguing 1940s Cybis Beauty
One of the most enjoyable things about creating the Cybis Archive has been hearing from readers who have questions about Cybis or information to share. This is particularly true in regard to the 1940s and 1950s pieces, many of which were either never documented by Cybis or their original information has been lost. An especially [...]
Three Mystery 1960s Cybis Sculptures
One of the aims of this web site is to eventually catalogue all of the Cybis studio’s designs – a rather daunting prospect when one considers that very few records were kept during their first decade. After Marylin Chorlton took over the studio at the end of the 1950s, things became more organized but their [...]
Two 1940s Papka Fairies by Marja Cybis
Recently an Archive reader sent me photos of two charming little papka figures made by Marja Cybis in the early 1940s (1940-1942) while the studio was in the Steinway Mansion. Although best recognized for her papka angels – such as the Angelic Orchestra – these figures are in her whimsy/folk-art style. My first reaction [...]
The Cybis ‘Bonnet Girls’
Despite many of us being engaged in digging out from the latest snowstorm, Spring actually has arrived in some places which may bring to mind (for those old enough to remember it!) the classic Irving Berlin song "Easter Parade" popularized by the 1948 movie of the same name: In your Easter bonnet, with all the [...]
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