diff --git a/include/mapnik/text/face.hpp b/include/mapnik/text/face.hpp
index 210c3479b..9158e258b 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/text/face.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/text/face.hpp
@@ -72,10 +72,13 @@ public:
 
     bool glyph_dimensions(glyph_info &glyph) const;
 
+    inline bool is_color() const { return color_font_;}
+
     ~font_face();
 
 private:
     FT_Face face_;
+    bool color_font_ = false;
 };
 using face_ptr = std::shared_ptr<font_face>;