Some art you can hang on your wall and some of it you can drink––well, kind of. Wine estate Château Mouton Rothschild is teaming up with the Palace of Versailles to auction off a number of cases featuring special art from five contemporary artists.
Artists Bernar Venet, Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, Lee Ufan, and Giuseppe Penone have all created labels for five vintages from the estate, which will be sold at three auctions around the world. Sotheby’s will be selling off 75 of these limited-edition cases in Hong Kong on April 1, London on April 17, and in New York on May 4. But the wine is only part of the prize.
Winning bidders will also receive an invitation for them and a guest to visit the Palace of Versailles for a private tasting and gala dinner on September 21 where historic vintages from the Château Mouton Rothschild cellar will be served alongside dinner.
According to Sotheby’s, a new artist has designed a Château Mouton Rothschild label every year since 1945, alumni including Picasso and Chagall. The estate has an entire room dedicated to this label art, appropriately called the “Paintings for the Labels Room.”
“An artistic bridge from one château to another, together we conceived this presentation case which celebrates the art and the art of living of one of the world’s finest wines, Château Mouton Rothschild, and the Palace of Versailles, a landmark of the world’s cultural heritage,” said Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Chairman and CEO of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA in an announcement on the Sotheby’s website. “It has been our wish to support the restoration of the Palace of Versailles by creating a limited-series collector’s case that brings together two internationally renowned symbols of art.”
Coincidentally, all of the artists involved in this project have also had their work shown at the Palace of Versailles, which adds a nice full-circle element to the campaign. All proceeds from the auctions will go toward renovations being made at the Palace of Versailles.
For more information on the auctions, head to the Sotheby’s website.