Why are Ćmielów figurines from the 1950s and 1960s so sought after?

Figurines linked to Ćmielów from the 1950s and 1960s grew out of a project at the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw. A team of artists headed by Henryk Jędrasiak, with designers such as Mirosław (Mieczysław) Naruszewicz, Hanna Orthwein and Lubomir Tomaszewski, created modern porcelain sculptures that broke away from earlier sentimental styles. Their works used simplified, stretched forms, strong diagonals and flat colour patches, matching the wider “New Look” movement in European design. In 1964 production of many of these models moved to the Ćmielów Porcelain Works, which gave them industrial scale and wide distribution. Today collectors prize original examples for their link to mid-century modernism and for the way they express movement with very economical shapes. As reference books and exhibitions have drawn attention to this period of Polish applied art, prices for rare or early versions have risen, especially for models with good condition and clear factory marks.