Antique leather trunk measuring 20 x 16 x 7 inches, c.1940s, packed full with the leotards and practice clothing of the last of the great Diaghilev ballerinas, Alexandra Danilova. Includes: 17 leotards, 10 practice skirts, 11 scarves, a full kimono, and an appliqued costume tunic, together with an original Martha Swope photograph of Danilova teaching, wearing one of the included practice skirts. The trunk is scuffed but in very good condition overall. A remarkable survival illuminating the vanished world of ballet’s legendary past. 

Perhaps the most intriguing item is the light blue tunic featuring extraordinary beadwork and green leaf-shape cutouts set into semi-transparent tulle. In terms of subject and style, it seems plausibly from the Braque-designed production of Zéphire et Flore, though this is not a match to any of the confirmed examples from that production at the V&A.

One of the most popular dancers of her time, Danilova was a star at St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet, with the Ballets Russes under Sergei Diaghilev, and then with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo after Diaghilev's death. One of the greatest dancers of her time, she created numerous important Balanchine roles and was an important teacher at the School of American Ballet. When she died at the age of 93 in 1997, her will stipulated a number of bequests to individuals and institutions, and most of her correspondence, notebooks, artwork and memorabilia is now housed at the Library of Congress, Kent State University's Costume Museum, Ohio's Ursuline College and the New York Public Library. The present item is from the personal collection of one of the principal heirs.