(pronunciation: see-bis, as far as I know. Know differently? Send me a line.)
Location: USA
For the first time I have to pan the production of an entire company. Cybis’ production is mundane or trite. They sometimes try to use humor, as in Mick, the Melodious Mutt, but the results are not particularly funny. Their products do not merit the money to buy them or the space they will take in your collection.
My opinion: Don’t.
Product lines:
animals: mostly naturalistic, some anthropomorphized (rabbits playing golf)
people: angels, Madonnas, popes, Nativity, Shakespeare characters, mythological figures, Native American figures, ballerinas, circus figures
birds
flowers: miniature blooms, full bloom with branch and bud
birds on flowers
Prices:
$100, $15,000
ornaments $100-$600
flowers: $100-$900
limited editions: $700-$35,000, editions as low as 25, some with as many as 1000
secondary: some figures are available at half or just over half original price, others less
Collector’s Society: None mentioned.
The official company site is: www.cybisporcelain.com
There is an eBay guide to Cybis edition terminology.
History
Boleslaw Cybis, born 1895 in Lithuania, traveled with architect/engineer father through Europe and Russia. He was trained as a painter and painted murals for NY World’s Fair in 1939. Cybis was in the US when WWII started. In 1940 he and his wife decided to create porcelain sculpture such as they had seen in Europe, and founded the Cybis Company.
The basic form is molded, then finished by hand by an artist, who adding flowers and delicate details such as finger positions and fingernails. After the first firing, the piece is painted by other artists using hand mixed colors, so no two pieces are exactly the same.
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