Sotheby's cognac auction to benefit The Film Foundation

To pay tribute to Louis XIII’s heritage of adventure and discovery, the house unveils L’Odysee d’un Roi, a unique collaboration inspired by the first shipments of Louis XIII in the late 1870s and the iconic journeys that followed to the farthest corners of the globe.

For this journey, Louis XIII has chosen as its traveling companions three French luxury houses that share its passion for rare craftsmanship and unbroken tradition: Hermes, Puiforcat, and Saint-Louis, which have contributed their own centuries-old savoir faire to the creation of a series of three unique objets d’art. These one-of-a-kind masterpieces will be presented in culture capitals on different continents as part of a year-long travelling exhibition.

New York, Hong Kong and London

Sotheby’s will auction each masterpiece in New York (September 2016), Hong-Kong (October 2016) and London (November 2016), with proceeds benefiting The Film Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by Martin Scorsese and several other leading filmmakers to preserve and restore classic films, ensuring their survival for future generations.

“L’Odysee d’un Roi is truly the result of a work of art and genius, a veritable tribute to craftsmanship and time. Much like the time, finesse and care it takes to create Louis XIII, so it is with the process of preserving classic cinema,” said Ludovic du Plessis, Louis XIII’s global executive director. “We therefore decided that the proceeds of our project will be donated to The Film Foundation, a group dedicated to film preservation and the exhibition of restored and classic cinema, a cultural legacy that one generation leaves to another.”

The ultimate journey

More than 50 individual artisans devoted over 1000 hours to produce these three bespoke creations. Each is unique, its design and contents inspired by the continent for which it is destined. The tailor-made offering includes:

• A bespoke trunk hand stitched by Hermes using the finest leathers and evoking a bygone era of luxury travel;
  
• A white gold pipette forged by the art deco silversmith Puiforcat for the ritual of service;
  
• A sublime crystal decanter and four elegant serving glasses — mouth-blown, cut and wheel-engraved by hand at the royal cristallerie Saint-Louis. Each decanter is etched with a 19th-century map of the continent where it is bound; and
  
• A blend of Louis XIII cognac enriched with a selection of the house’s oldest treasures from Grande Champagne that each cellar master passes on, from generation to generation. A very special spirit revealing flavours that are at once singular and complementary. A cognac to savour and admire.

Completing the unique work of art is a beautiful book that chronicles Louis XIII’s mythical journeys, which begin on a 16th-century battlefield in rural France, but will touch every corner of the globe.

L’Odysee d’un Roi’ is a testament both to the heritage that created Louis XIII and the nature that continues to inspire it. Its grapes grow in the chalky soils of Grande Champagne, the premier cru in the cognac region. Preserving this terroir and its biodiversity has always been a priority for the brand. Louis XIII has pledged to replant 115,000 oak trees in France in partnership with ONF (French National Forest Office). Some of these will be used to make its centennial tierçons, the special casks that, in one century’s time, will be the vessels for Louis XIII’s journeys of the future. The protection of cultural treasures — whether the art of filmmaking or the art of cognac — requires time, finesse and care.