A collection of commemorative bottles of Ornellaia 2008 designed by German artist Rebecca Horn sold for €130,000 last night at an auction in Berlin.
The bottles were commissioned to mark the third year of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia’s Vendemmia d’Artista programme.
The annual programme sees a prominent artist commissioned to produce a work of art relating to a theme of the vintage.
The theme for the 2008 vintage was ‘Energy’. Previous themes were ‘Exuberance’ (Luigi Ontani, Milan, 2006) and ‘Harmony’ (Ghada Amer & Reza Farkhondeh, New York, 2007).
German artist Rebecca Horn’s work is described as ‘a kinetic sculpture consisting of copper elements and mirrors that adorns the centre of the barrel room’.
Gionvanni Geddes da Filicaja, CEO of Tenuta dell’Ornallaia, said: ‘Historically, wine and art have gone together over many centuries. We wanted to restore the tradition of patronage.‘
‘What is important is the connection of the art to the characteristic of the vintage. Rebecca has done a truly fantastic job.’
In total, nine lots consisting of a mixture of large format bottles of Ornellaia 2008 were auctioned off, including a single salmanazar (9 litre) which fetched €40,000.
The auction was held at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie and proceeds will be donated to the ‘Friends of the Neue Nationalgalerie’ programme.
Decanter.com understands that 2009 vintage Vendemmia d’Artista will feature a Chinese artist.
Written by John Abbott in Berlin
