33250
Pauillac
France
Tél. 05.56.59.19.40
Fax. 05.56.59.29.78
The terrace at Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande offers a spectacular view of the vineyards in Pauillac and Saint Julien as well as the Gironde Estuary.
This estate has been devoted to culture ever since the 17th century. In the early 19th century, Sophie de Pichon Longueville, student of the painter Gérard, decorated the family home with fourteen admirable paintings.
The chateau's Orangerie currently displays a collection of elegant antique glassware, some of which is over 3000 years old. There are wine glasses and goblets as well as Greek, Roman, and Syrian carafes. The Afghani and Chinese glasses have survived the years marvellously, despite their fragility.
These incredibly old pieces are displayed alongside glasses from Venice and Bohemia, as well as French and English glasses from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Engraved glasses, cut glass, blue opaline, and Bohemian red glassware exemplify the virtuosity of master glassmakers.
A crystal and vermeil Fabergé ewer made in Moscow in 1894 is one of the collection's finest pieces.
The late 19th and early 20th centuries are represented by Gallé, Lalique, Daum, and Baccarat.
The elegant glass paste items goes far beyond their utilitarian purpose to become veritable works of sculpture.
Contemporary artists give the collection another dimension:
designs by Jean-Paul Van Lith, the Leperlier brothers, Jean-Claude Novaro, Trilogie de Martinez (France), stunning items by Weinberg, Chihuly, and Rossol (USA),
a large amber glass oval by Vasicek
(Czech Republic), a vase with a trout design by Japanese artist Hiroshi Yamano's, Kosta Boda glasses from Sweden, etc.
The diversity and creativity of these works of art is truly highlighted in this exceptional setting.
And why did May-Eliane de Lencquesaing spend 20 years accumulating such an impressive collection of glassware?
She feels that there is a similarity between the modesty of the origins of glass and those of wine: glass is made from the humble raw material, sand, and wine from a wild creeper, the vine. Both are utterly transformed by human intelligence and expertise to create something which is not merely a product, but a work of art.
This finesse, harmony, and elegance symbolises what we strive for in the Médoc.
