RZM Fine Arts and Antiques Inc: Ask the Appraiser

I’m a big fan of your column each week and was hoping you could help me with this very heavy statue. I remember my parents purchased it at a New York City art gallery in the 1980s and my father had it on a pedestal in his wine cellar for about thirty-five years. When visitors would come over they frequently complimented my parents on how beautiful this statue was. Honestly, I always thought it looked weird! But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It stands 19 inches tall and must weigh thirty pounds. Can you tell me perhaps where it was made and how old it is? As we are thinking about selling it, who the artist is and how much it may be worth? Thank you, Jon, for answering my questions.

Thomas in Chestnut Ridge

 Your parents choose the perfect decoration for a wine cellar. I want to have a glass of wine just looking at it! The name of your beautiful bronze sculpture is “Heat”. It was executed by the important Russian / French artist and designer Romain De Tirtoff (1892-1990). He was known by the pseudonym “Erte”, from the French pronunciation of his initials. He also designed jewelry, graphic arts and fashion items. He secured his first substantial contract with Harper’s Bazaar magazine and thus launched an illustrious career that included designing costumes and stage sets. During this time, Erte designed costumes for none other than Mata Hari! Between 1915 and 1937, Erte designed over 200 covers for Harper’s Bazaar, and his illustrations would also appear in such publications as Cosmopolitan and Ladies Home Journal. Erte is perhaps most famous for his elegant fashion designs which capture the Art Deco period in which he worked. His delicate figures and sophisticated, glamorous designs are instantly recognizable, and his ideas and art still influence fashion into the 21st century. Recently I sold a set of seven limited edition Coorvoisier cognac bottles that Erte decorated. Each bottle shows the different stages of the cognac making process, from distillation to maturation. This set of bottles was produced two years prior to his death. As far as his bronze statues are concerned, most are in the Art Deco and Art Nouveau style. Your particular model depicts a beautiful woman resting in a tree hammock among hanging clusters of grapes. It was cast in the 1980s. I can see your bronze is mounted on a black onyx base and appears to be in excellent condition with a really great polychrome finish. The current value of this sculpture is $2,000 USD. Erte produced many bronzes of this same style throughout the 1980s. All do well when offered at auction. Yours is one of the most desirable of all his bronzes because of the wine / grape connotation. Very decorative and once again, the perfect decoration for a wine cellar. Please look carefully along the edge of the tree trunk, there you will see the Erte monogram. So, open a good bottle of French wine, sit back and enjoy this wonderful statue.