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Rufio's (Martin Landau) screen-matched cuirass and screen-matched tunic from Joseph L. Mankiewicz's historical epic Cleopatra. Rufio wore a tunic as he watched Cleopatra's (Elizabeth Taylor) barge sail into the bay of Tarsus. He then wore his cuirass over the top of the tunic when meeting Sosigenes (Hume Cronyn) on the docks, and later back in Rome while informing Mark Antony (Richard Burton) that yet another one of his ambassadors had been refused an audience with Cleopatra. Several creases in the abdomen screen match the cuirass to the one seen on screen, while creases in the back of the tunic screen match it to the Tarsus balcony scene.

At the time of its release, Cleopatra was the most expensive film ever made. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four, including Best Costume Design.

The cuirass and tunic are predominantly made of leather, with the former adorned with metal details. Both are scalloped at the waist and shoulders, while the cuirass features two straps that loop over the shoulders from the rear piece to connect it to the front piece. "Rufio" is handwritten in black marker on the interiors of both garments, which also feature internal Peruzzi costume labels.

Estimate: £5,000 - 10,000 Ω


This lot comes from the archives of the famed Italian costume company Costumi d'Arte. The company has been supplying some of the biggest film productions in the world with costumes for over 100 years.


View all lots from CLEOPATRA (1963)

View all lots from The Costumi d'Arte Collection