The fragility of fine porcelain figurines is certainly part of their beauty, but that same attribute can make them tricky to clean, if and when that’s needed. In reality it’s ‘when’ rather than ‘if’, because one of the Great Mysteries of Everyday Life is how something can get so incredibly dusty even though kept inside [...]
As a former collector I can't help wincing when I see a Cybis sculpture selling on eBay for a fraction of what its retail price was when originally made. After all, that was a few decades ago and isn't art supposed to appreciate in value over time? The economy has changed, of course – we're [...]
Although the typical ‘awards season’ is still another month or so away, some things never really change – such as those particularly fragile areas on certain Cybis porcelain sculptures that are distressingly prone to damage. Whether the breakage happens from a not-100%-careful picking up in order to dust the cabinet shelf (I have been guilty [...]
‘Art porcelain’ is the term often used to refer to what many people call “porcelain sculptures.” The term “porcelain figurine” is sometimes used, but it’s too broad because it encompasses items such as the Hummel child figurines which are not regarded as ‘art porcelain.’ The history of the art porcelain market is useful when trying [...]
Some online sellers make a point of mentioning whether a given item is or isn’t being sold with its’ original box/packaging, and/or its COA (certificate of authenticity) if there originally was one. The original Cybis-marked boxes were frankly nothing to write home about, and most buyers didn’t bother to keep them. The COA situation is [...]
After the closure of the studio, the so-called ‘secondary’ market became the only way to buy Cybis porcelains. Truth be told, the majority of pieces have been sold that way for the past two decades; even when the studio had a website, their prices were so much higher than anyone else’s that their percentage of [...]
A fair percentage of the messages I receive through this website begin with ‘I have a damaged Cybis, how can I get it repaired?’ Given the fragile nature of these pieces and the vicissitudes of time, this is not surprising. Before I get into the good, bad, and realistic aspects of my answer to these [...]
Back in the heyday of art porcelain collecting, most purchasers belonged to one or more of three general categories: (a) They bought whatever sculptures they liked, budget permitting; (b) they focused mainly on certain genres, which the Cybis studio termed ‘Collections’ – more about those in a future post; and/or (c) they made their purchase [...]
Sometimes you will see a piece of Cybis porcelain with the letters AP or A.P. near the Cybis signature; those initials stand for ‘artist’s proof.’ This term has long been used in the printmaking industry. It originally meant the first (proofing) run of an edition of prints, which the artist/painter would review and make any changes [...]
Occasionally I am asked whether a collection, or a particular example, of Cybis porcelain should be insured. Several decades ago, my answer would have been “yes”; nowadays, it is an equivocal “it depends...” Let’s take a look at the available options using a limited-edition example: the Eagle Dancer. It retailed for $4000 in 1984, and [...]
THE CYBIS ARCHIVE 