BAG OF TRICKS

Bertozzi & Casoni’s “Luisa” (2021)

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

I need a dek please and it can be about two lines.

BY EDWARD ESPITIA

Madeira was the wine of choice in the fledgling days of the 13 American colonies, and it is closely entwined with the history and lore of our little upstart nation. The signers of the Declaration of Independence toasted with glasses of the tawny wine, and it is mentioned countless times in literature as a favorite libation of characters ranging from the ones created by Austen to those of Hemingway. The Portuguese island of Madeira lies in the Atlantic, closer to

Africa than Europe. The rainy, humid terroir of the island shouldn’t be hospitable to the vine, but the bastardo grape thrived. The distinctive rich, silky vanilla notes are created in the production process that was discovered in the 15th century quite accidentally. The island’s location and easily accessible port made it a crucial stop on the journey to the New

World. Ships would stock barrels of sweet wine that was fortified with brandy to make the eight-week journey. While the barrels rocked back and forth in the heat of the hulls along the equator, the wine was slowly cooked, and the taste was changed completely and for the better. From that, Madeira wine was born.

The original bastardo grape has long since vanished, thanks to crop ailments in the late 19th century, followed shortly by American Prohibition and World War II. Very few casks remain from before the torrid end of Madeira’s early winemaking days.

Just in time to pair with your holiday dessert course, Christie’s will tender several of these bottles of recherché Dermot Bolger Bastardo 1889, from the Torre Bella estate, which traces its origins to the first settlers of the island. You can see these bottles, among many others of impeccable provenance, at Christie’s Finest & Rarest Wines and Spirits A duo of Italian viewing from December 6 to 11, ahead of the auction on December 13. christies.comceramicists break the mold BY EDWARD ESPITIA

Giampaolo Bertozzi and Stefano Dal Monte Casoni’s obsessive attention to detail and almost undetectable mimicry in their ceramic sculpture goes beyond deception. The hyperrealism of their work allows the viewer to interpret and absorb the meaning of the artists’ symbolism on a deeper level than just the appreciation of the exquisite craftsmanship. Bertozzi & Casoni founded their artistic practice in 1980 in Imola, Italy. They work in multiple ceramic mediums while employing both traditional and experimental techniques that take their sculptures far from the banal world of conventional ceramic artistry. Their subjects encompass the derelict, the mundane and the macabre. Overflowing waste bins, dozens of empty eggshells on a silver platter and a disembodied gorilla’s head displayed on a plate have all been crafted with meticulous detail in polychrome ceramic.

The humble handbag, the ultimate amalgamation of utility and luxury, was the inspiration for several painted sculptures created by Bertozzi & Casoni. Each purse is representative of a venerable, illustrious woman. The “Luisa” sculpture takes its name from Marchesa Luisa Casati, the eccentric Italian heiress, socialite and patron of the arts that enraptured European society. The marchesa lived at the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which now houses the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The bag is sculpted in its open state to reveal exquisitely detailed items within. Art works from the Guggenheim collection can be found in the bag, including a miniature copy of Yves Tanguy’s “The Absent Lady” (1942) and Constantin Brancusi’s “Sleeping Muse” (1910). A recreation of Peggy Guggenheim’s signature butterfly glasses, designed for her by Edward Melcarth, is included as well. These diminutive objects combined with the incredibly realistic knit gloves and delicate butterflies that appear to have just landed on the bag allow the viewer to be a voyeur to a brief, fleeting moment that has been frozen in a state of stasis.