These delightful sculptures were originally designed in the late Fifties and early Sixties by sculptors working with the historic porcelain factory in Cmielow in Poland where porcelain has been in production since 1790.

The production from the mid - twentieth century has been sought after by galleries and private collectors for many years. The availability of pieces has slowly declined although, even today, originals will occasionally come on the market.

After a break in production of nearly forty years the present owners have literally recovered the original moulds from the basement! Some are sadly beyond rescue but others have been repairable. Adam Spala the owner of the factory estimates it will take some twenty years for this process to be completed. Indeed the employee responsible for the repair work, Czeslaw Wosiek who has worked in the Cmielow porcelain factory for almost fifty years, has recently been awarded a medal by the Polish government for his services to the Art and Culture of the country. At the time of writing this some eighty-nine of the original sculptures have been recovered and the moulds restored. They are now being made again using exactly the same techniques as in the 1950's and are available in the UK through Blue Poppy Art's growing number of quality retailers.

Undoubtedly inspired by the work of Picasso and Henry Moore the Cmielow Collection includes figures in bright vibrant colours as well as the monochrome shades so reminiscent of the periods fashion. There are wonderful stylish cats, elegant giraffes, colourful African women, Girls in the fashions of the time, a small Orchestra and much, much more! Overall their appearance is very retro and appear quite modern to us today. They are extremely fashionable for the present market.

Every piece is carefully hand made in the finest porcelain before being decorated again by hand. Each one is numbered and comes complete with a certificate of authenticity showing the sculpture number, the year of the original design and the name of the sculptor.

The sculptors who created the designs originally in Cmielow have spread throughout the World and some have become famous in their own right. They include one of the founders of the Emotionalism Art Movement Lubomiren Tomaszewski, Hanna Orthwein, Henryk Jedrasiak, Mieczyslaw Naruszewicz and others.

You can obtain an eight-page colour brochure free of charge from BLUE POPPY ART featuring most of the designs and details of your local stockist. The factory has recently produced a 300 page hardback book, which gives a fascinating insight into the history of Cmielow and porcelain manufacture there as well as many historic and modern photographs of the factory and Cmielow. In addition the book illustrates all of the designs that the present owners have managed to manufacture again. This is available from Blue Poppy Art Ltd at £40 plus postage.