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Cybis Porcelain was established by Boleslaw Cybis in Trenton, NJ in 1953. While unique, individual Cybis sculptures were made in the early 1940s (signed M.B.Cybis) the earliest production pieces from 1947 were marked "Cybis" and produced in tandem with Cordey China at the Church Street location in Trenton.
The early designs were often created using a variety of finishes and colors. Sculptures were offered in color or white bisque known as Cybis Parian. Glazed surfaces (in color and white) were termed "Stained Glass" Porcelain. "Cypia" is the Cybis signature finish in Sepia tones. Perhaps the rarest and most prized is "Old Coin Gold" in which 24k gold accents are combined with other finishes.
After the death of Boleslaw in 1957 and his wife Marja in 1958, the studio was left to their protégé Marylin Kozuch (later Marylin Kozuch Chorlton). She was like a daughter to Boleslaw and Marja, having been with them since 1939. As the studio's new owner, she assumed the title of Artistic Director appointing her husband Joseph as CEO.
Early publications classified sculptures as Limited Editions and Non-Limited Editions. As the product line grew, grouping sculptures together simplified marketing and created collector interest. Categories were introduced as named "collections". In later years collections became very numerous. To simplify this site, broad, logical categories are used in the navigation bar for locating sculptures.
The Cybis, Trenton, NJ studio ceased production in the early 2000's. Current trends in the porcelain arts secondary market have been on the decline every year for the last 25 years. Recent sales online and at auction, reflect pricing around 10-20% of the last published retail price lists from the early 1990's. Damaged items sell for 1-2%, if sold at all. This is a Collector's Market.
At today's prices most buyers can afford to build an impressive collection quickly. Seasoned collectors are usually focused on specific items for their collections. The key point any new collector should keep in mind is to buy pieces you like. Buying a piece because it's part of a category may later feel like it was a mistake. Art you love is art you'll be glad to keep a lifetime!
In 1942 Boleslaw entered into a partnership with two Philadelphia men who owned a company making lamps. The new business, named Cordey, would produce decorative lamps, tableware and figurines made of china. Cordey was one of the leading producers of fine wares during WWII as resources used to produce china were not needed for the war effort. At Cordey's peak 25,000 items were produced each month.
From 1942 to 1949 Boleslaw and Marja continuously created new items for Cordey, which they partly owned. Many of these were uniquely finished and sold as Cybis art pieces. They were hand signed "M.B.Cybi5." as shown above and often also carried the incised CORDEY stamp. These items are separate products, like Cordey, and should not be confused with the Cybis Porcelain line of sculptures.
View the early 1950's Cybis product line. Reconstructed from one of the studio's price sheets for merchants, this page provides a nearly comprehensive list of products from the mid 1950's.