Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)

executed by Erté in gouache, in brilliant and delicate colours, some illuminated in silver and gilt, including

1) Four set designs for:  a) The Marschallin's boudoir in Act I, showing the Marschallin and Octavian; b) The Marschallin alone at her desk and the clock; c) The presentation of the silver rose in Act 2, showing Octavian, Sophie and Marianne; d) The banquet scene in Act 3, 4 items framed and glazed, overall size: c.42 x 51.5cm



2) Six framed costume designs, signed by Erté in black or in white on black, including for Sophie, the Marschallin (crowned), Octavian, Annina, Mohammed (the Marschallin's black page) & Faninal, 6 items framed and glazed, portrait format, overall size: c.49 x 38.5cm



3) Ten mounted designs signed by Erté in black or in white on black, including, in Act 1: Octavian, the Italian singer, the Flower Seller, a Scholar, Baron Ochs;  in Act 2: Sophie, Herr von Faninal, Annina; in Act 3: Sophie, a Waiter at the inn, each c.37.5 x 27.5cm, in card mounts, overall size: c.49 x 38.5cm 

4) Fifty-nine unframed items, all signed by Erté, containing costume designs for all the characters in the opera, including Octavian and his friends, Annina, the intriguer Valzacchi, Sophie's duenna Marianne, all the minor characters at the Marschallin's levée, and seven for "Personages of suspicious appearance" in the Act 3 Pantomime, and many others (see below), 79 designs in all, each c.37.5 x 27.5cm, with Erté's annotations and titles on verso, stamped ("Erté Romain de Tirtoff"), some tissue-guards together with 
 
5) Eleven small designs for set-details and stage props, all inscribed by Erté: "1^st Act White Chandelier behind the door", "The Rose of The Marschallin", "Animal catalogue drawing" (4, all signed by Erté), "Basket with cosmetics for the Milliner", "Reticule for Annina", "3^rd Act Lantern behind the door",  "Second hat for Milliner" and a design-detail for a flat, 4to (c.27 x 18.5cm), on untrimmed cartridge paper



90 items in all, most numbered by Erté 18.672 to 18.767, with his stamp, 10 drawings framed and glazed, the remainder in a large grey cloth folding box, brown gilt title-labels to spine, 1980

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A SUPERLATIVE SET.  Erté's autograph gouaches for his celebrated designs for Der Rosenkavalier are of the highest quality, ravishingly stylish, and executed with an astonishing attention to detail.  They provide a consistent theme from the elaborate and flamboyant stage sets down to such details as the Marschallin's rose, the "3^rd Act Lantern behind the door" and the "Second hat for Milliner".

Erté's 1980 designs were long remembered by the regular patrons at Glyndebourne as a highlight in the productions there.  Their placement into a mid nineteenth-century setting was controversial to Straussian purists like Alan Jefferson; however, the critic Max Loppert delighted in their "outrageous theatricality":  "What I admired so much was the consistency with which their specifically Gallic qualities of lightness and wit helped to strip the work of at least a layer of the usually inevitable thickly varnished sentimentality; they appear to have encouraged the producer, John Cox, to chart an uncommonly candid presentation of the four principal roles. Mr Cox has faced what is implicit in both words and music (but what is often glossed or smoothed over): that at some point during the long, long evening all four offer themselves for scrutiny in an unfavourable light. This production, it seems to me, demonstrably untrue to the era in which it should be set, may be truer to the sense of the work itself than its appassionati like to admit."

The 59 unframed costume designs all bear Erté's signature, his annotations and stamps to verso.  They are in Act 1: Octavian second costume, The Majordomo of the Marschallin, The Footmen of the Marschallin, The Marschallin's personal Maid, The Majordomo of the Baron, The Footmen of the Baron, Jockey (follower of the Baron), The Flute-player, The Notary, A widow of noble family, The three orphans, The Hairdresser , The Hairdresser's Assistant, The Writer (second version), The Cook and his assistant, and A courier—Act 2:  Mistress Marianne Leitmetzer, The Majordomo of Faninal, Faninal's 4 Footmen, The Majordomo of Octavian, The Runners, The Pages, The Hayducks, Octavian's friends, Faninal's Kitchen Maid (3), Faninal's seamstress, The Doctor,  Faninal's valets, & Faninal's Cook--Act 3: Valzacchi, Annina, Two little girls, Two little boys, Waiters, Piccolo, The owner of the inn, Policemen, The Musicians, The Driver, The Police Officer, Personages of suspicious appearance (7), Girl guests in the hotel (3), Men-guests at the hotel (2), 4 hotel maids and 2 Kitchen maids (2)