Collectors of circa-1950s Cybis porcelains know that the pieces produced during that decade differ from those produced in 1960 and beyond in two respects: Almost none were original Cybis designs (see this post), and many of them had a glazed finish. (Later pieces were all originals and were never glazed.) But there’s also a sub-group [...]
Although we know that Cybis used molds bought from other companies to produce almost all of their 1950s retail line, their local competitor Boehm seemed to have eschewed this practice – or so I thought until recently, when I found a singing-angel figurine made by both studios during that decade. And they weren’t alone: at [...]
The majority of representations of Jesus produced by the Cybis studio date from the 1950s and, as far as we know, those were all cast from molds they purchased from commercial mold companies such as Holland, Atlantic, and others. The Jesus sculptures fall into four categories: busts, full figures, crucifixes, and wall mounted items such [...]
Among the unusual 1940s 'papka' composition figures by Cybis is a charming group of six angels, each playing an instrument, called the Angelic Orchestra. They were listed, but not pictured, in the 1971 museum exhibit catalog Cybis in Retrospect. Each angel is approximately 14" high and dates from the very early 1940s. Judging by the [...]
As shown in the 1940s Cybis Retail post, occasionally items from that era are found with either a dual signature (Cordey plus Cybis) on the same piece and, in a very few instances, a standard Cordey design item has been found bearing the "M.B. Cybis" signature instead. There aren't many of these "duals" and "duplicates" [...]
There is a small group of Cybis pieces that depart noticeably from the 'recognizably Cybis' retail design aesthetic. All of them were created during the first half of the 1960s and designed by Laszlo Ispanky. Flight Into Egypt is 13" high and was produced from 1960 to 1970 in white bisque only, an is attached [...]
