Publication Facts and Rating (0 to 5 stars) "At-a-Glance"

Publisher: Edizioni del Solleone (Italy)
Publication Year: 1987
Number of cards: 78
Quality of artwork -- 4 1/2 stars
Usefulness for meditation/pathworking -- 0 stars
Readability (Divination) -- 1 star
Symbology -- 1 1/2 stars
Value to Collectors -- 4 1/2 stars

General Commentary
If your favorite "famous" artist had designed a tarot deck, what would it look like? There have been occasional attempts made by artists to create a tarot "in the style of" another artist -- the Dürer tarot and the more recently-published Bosch tarot being two examples that spring readily to mind. But perhaps the most famous and sought-after deck of this type is Amerigo Folchi's "Omaggio a Erté" tarot ("Hommage to Erté," in English). Published in 1987, in a limited edition of 1,500 copies, the Erté tarot has become much in demand by collectors eager to add this beautiful and unusual deck to their collections. And for good reason; Folchi's interpretation of Erté's work is a joy to behold. His tribute accurately captures the lavish costumes and art deco stylings of the artist and fashion designer famous for his Harper's Bazaar covers of the 1920s.

The major arcana and court cards feature detailed costume designs inspired by the titles and traditional (albeit stereotypical, in most cases) associations of each card. The High Priestess card shows a woman draped in flowing veils; the Strength card features a woman dressed in a fiery red / orange pantsuit that hangs in flame-like drapes. In fact, all of the cards -- including those that traditionally feature "masculine" imagery, such as The Emperor -- depict articles of women's clothing and / or women wearing various haute couteur fashions.

While Folchi manages to remain true to Erte's style throughout the deck, some of the cards have an (interestingly) odd "feel" to them. In the Star card, we see a reclining woman in a short skirt and fishnet stockings, looking somewhat like a prostitute. In the Wheel of Fortune card, the figure appears to be wearing nothing more than a scarf or piece of sheer fabric wrapped around her body; her long, flowing hair is the focal point of the card, filling the circle in which she lies. And although it's unlikely that Folchi intended the association, the entire Wheel card reminded me of the opening scene from Barbarella.

In the minor arcana cards, Folchi seems to focus mostly on accessories -- hats, scarves, shawls, and the like. With the minors, it becomes more difficult to see the correspondences between divinitory card meanings and Folchi's fashion selections. Of course, the Omaggio a Erté deck was obviously not designed with its cartomantic use foremost in mind. Rather, the deck is an artistic exercise. In his Erté tarot, Folchi manages to meld the inspiration of Erté's style with the fascinating world of tarot archetypes, while at the same time providing a showcase for his own gift of creating colorful and minutely-detailed illustrations that never fail to enchant and delight.

Because of its limited edition status, plus an apparent upsurge of interest in Folchi's work over the last several years (he is also the creator of several other popular tarots, including the Felicita / Happiness, Ferrara, Columbus, and Carnival of Venice tarots), the Erté deck has become increasingly difficult to obtain. None of the major on-line Italian dealers of collectible tarots list it in their catalogs any longer. As of this writing (2/12/01) however, it has been showing up on eBay with some regularity, at prices ranging from $80 - $150. That makes the Omaggio a Erté tarot a bit pricey for those who are simply looking for an interesting reading deck. But I would highly recommend the Erté deck to any collectors who can afford to bring a copy into their collections.

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Guest review copyright 2001 by Jeannette Roth
Used with permission