Pedestal table by Romain De Tirtoff (ERTE) (1892-1990)

Lot 233 - Pedestal table by Romain De Tirtoff (ERTE) (1892-1990)
Artist of Russian origin
Pedestal table entitled "L'Indifference" with a round top resting on three black lacquered spindle feet, with white lacquered rings.
Rich decoration of marquetry of colors on the plate representing a woman in costume of pomp.
Three pastel pink granite balls at the top of the uprights.
Signed in the decoration of the tray.
Restoration of use and maintenance.
Manufacture : Rinck Paris
Numbered 9/97,5
Dimensions : H: 60,5; D: 60 cm.
Biography :
Born Roman Petrovich Tyrtov (Роман Петрович Тыртов) in St. Petersburg, into a large family with roots dating back to 1548, he designed his first suit at age 5, influenced by his mother's "refined elegance" who later inspired him in his images of "fatal and sinuous" women. He was also fascinated by the Russian and Parisian fashion magazines that his mother looked at. His father, Admiral Pyotr Ivanovitch Tyrtov, expected his son to carry on the family tradition by becoming an officer in the navy. He first studied at the Saint Petersburg Academy and in the studio of Ilja Iefimovitch Repine (in 1906). He took the pseudonyms of Pitch and Tir and published fashion sketches in the magazine Damskij mir.
In 1907, at the age of fifteen, he came to Paris and made some artistic attempts for the masters under the pseudonym Erté. He also created a sculpture in silvered bronze, Demoiselle à la balancelle, in the Art Nouveau style, of which ten copies were made. He moved to Paris in 1910 and then to Boulogne-sur-Seine. In 1911, he took courses at the Académie Julian while producing fashion designs. He will say of this year spent in Paris "I did not discover Beardsley until when I had already been in Paris for a year". In 1912, Romain de Tirtoff was sent to Paris to learn the design profession. He adopted a pseudonym so as not to "dishonour" his family. He designed his first sets for the presentation of oriental-style ball gowns for the great couturier Paul Poiret, then the sets for the play Le Minaret in 1913 for the theatre director Jacques Richepin. His career was launched. He also drew in Indian ink for the Gazette du Bon Ton. In 1915, he obtained his first major contract, which lasted twenty-two years, with Harper's Bazaar magazine, and then led a brilliant career designing costumes and theatre sets.