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Collection Noir
Luisa Casati Inspirée
Inspired by all things exotic, and unafraid to venture into the unknown, chocolatier Katrina Markoff has now allowed her chocolate inspirations to come from a scantly remembered femme fatale, the Italian heiress of the early 1900's, Marchesa Luisa Casati. Her latest collection conjured from the Bohemian world of the Marchesa, mixes fashion, chocolate, pearls and magic.
If Edgar Allan Poe had begotten the moonchild of his darkest reveries with the help of Coco Chanel, the result would have been the Marchesa Luisa Casati- for she was, without a doubt, the maddest, chicest, and most scandalous figure of the early twentieth century's international art and society scene. Her black kohl lined eyes sparkling green through the camera's lens both awed and inspired all who looked on her. She was sculpted by by Epstein, photographed by Cecil Beaton and Man Ray and rendered on canvas by numerous painters, including Van Dongen, Boldini and Augustus John. She was probably the most artistically represented woman in history after the Virgin Mary and Cleopatra.
The Marchesa Casati paled her face to pearl white, crimsoned her lips scarlet and ringed her large green eyes with India ink, while drops of belladonna dilated her pupils into Stygian voids. Strolling through Venice's Piazza San Marco at midnight in the nude with her jewel-collared pet cheetahs, her path lit by torches borne aloft by equally unclothed Moorish man servants, her ability to astound was unequaled.
Fascinated with the supernatural, the Marchesa always wore strands of pearls draped around her lithe body, as they were a connection to the moon goddess and great beauty. In honor of Casati, Markoff includes a small vial of pearl dust used as wishing dust or to sprinkle into a glass of bubbly champagne, a potent aphrodisiac! The pearl has long been a symbol of beauty and Aphrodite. Cleopatra was said to have drank a pearl dissolved in wine to seduce Mark Anthony. Roman women wore pearls during the day and night to fill their dreams with jewels. Innumerable myths surround the formation of pearls, all mystical, calling their birth divine raindrops, dewdrops and children of the moon. In the Far East the pearl was believed to have formed in the brain of the sage dragon, hence "pearls of wisdom." The Greeks considered it a symbol of love's energy and in India they were thought to be drops of dew that had fallen into the sea.
In Casati's honor, Markoff has conjured up a bewitching Hawaiian black salt caramel ensconced in 85% cacao dark bitter chocolate and crowned with real edible pearls. The Hawaiian black salt is reminiscent of Luisa's black painted eyes, the whites of the baby pearls crown the truffle like the frosting of pearls that hung about her like oysters from the sea signifying her siren allure. This is the perfect collection for the dark chocolate addict.
The Marchesa, LUXE Collection box is adorned with strands of fresh water pearls: a limited edition of 6 collector's edition boxes, numbered, designed and signed by local artist Marianne Biagi of Chicago. 9 pieces $600, only 6 available at Bergdorf Goodman and Vosges Haut-Chocolat stores exclusively.
The Collection Noir, the Marchesa is simply wrapped and adorned with a single pearl, 9 piece $ 45.
Available October 2005
Visit www.marchesacasati.com to learn more about the 'Marchesa Casati" read her fascinating biography "Infinite Variety--The Definitive Edition" written by Scot Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino published in September 2004 by the University of Minnesota Press.
Inspired by all things exotic, and unafraid to venture into the unknown, chocolatier Katrina Markoff has now allowed her chocolate inspirations to come from a scantly remembered femme fatale, the Italian heiress of the early 1900's, Marchesa Luisa Casati. Her latest collection conjured from the Bohemian world of the Marchesa, mixes fashion, chocolate, pearls and magic.
If Edgar Allan Poe had begotten the moonchild of his darkest reveries with the help of Coco Chanel, the result would have been the Marchesa Luisa Casati- for she was, without a doubt, the maddest, chicest, and most scandalous figure of the early twentieth century's international art and society scene. Her black kohl lined eyes sparkling green through the camera's lens both awed and inspired all who looked on her. She was sculpted by by Epstein, photographed by Cecil Beaton and Man Ray and rendered on canvas by numerous painters, including Van Dongen, Boldini and Augustus John. She was probably the most artistically represented woman in history after the Virgin Mary and Cleopatra.
The Marchesa Casati paled her face to pearl white, crimsoned her lips scarlet and ringed her large green eyes with India ink, while drops of belladonna dilated her pupils into Stygian voids. Strolling through Venice's Piazza San Marco at midnight in the nude with her jewel-collared pet cheetahs, her path lit by torches borne aloft by equally unclothed Moorish man servants, her ability to astound was unequaled.
Fascinated with the supernatural, the Marchesa always wore strands of pearls draped around her lithe body, as they were a connection to the moon goddess and great beauty. In honor of Casati, Markoff includes a small vial of pearl dust used as wishing dust or to sprinkle into a glass of bubbly champagne, a potent aphrodisiac! The pearl has long been a symbol of beauty and Aphrodite. Cleopatra was said to have drank a pearl dissolved in wine to seduce Mark Anthony. Roman women wore pearls during the day and night to fill their dreams with jewels. Innumerable myths surround the formation of pearls, all mystical, calling their birth divine raindrops, dewdrops and children of the moon. In the Far East the pearl was believed to have formed in the brain of the sage dragon, hence "pearls of wisdom." The Greeks considered it a symbol of love's energy and in India they were thought to be drops of dew that had fallen into the sea.
In Casati's honor, Markoff has conjured up a bewitching Hawaiian black salt caramel ensconced in 85% cacao dark bitter chocolate and crowned with real edible pearls. The Hawaiian black salt is reminiscent of Luisa's black painted eyes, the whites of the baby pearls crown the truffle like the frosting of pearls that hung about her like oysters from the sea signifying her siren allure. This is the perfect collection for the dark chocolate addict.
The Marchesa, LUXE Collection box is adorned with strands of fresh water pearls: a limited edition of 6 collector's edition boxes, numbered, designed and signed by local artist Marianne Biagi of Chicago. 9 pieces $600, only 6 available at Bergdorf Goodman and Vosges Haut-Chocolat stores exclusively.
The Collection Noir, the Marchesa is simply wrapped and adorned with a single pearl, 9 piece $ 45.
Available October 2005
Visit www.marchesacasati.com to learn more about the 'Marchesa Casati" read her fascinating biography "Infinite Variety--The Definitive Edition" written by Scot Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino published in September 2004 by the University of Minnesota Press.
