Buatier De Kolta

Who was Buatier De Kolta?

Buatier de Kolta was a French magician who performed throughout the latter part of the 1800s in England and America. Buatier de Kolta was a contemporary of fellow French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. Many of his illusions, such as multiplying steel balls, the expanding die and the appearing bird cage, are performed by magicians today.

Buatier de Kolta is known for his de Kolta Chair or Praying Lady illusion. A woman prayed in a chair, was then covered by a large cloth, and would appear to vanish before an audience. Present-day magician David Copperfield has adapted this illusion in his own performances. He is the subject of the book Buatier de Kolta: Genius of Illusion by Peter Warlock.