Allan D'Arcangelo, Trenette Al Pesto - I Tre Merli - New York, NY, 1998

"My most profound experiences of landscape were looking through the windshield." - Allan D'Arcangelo.
Note: the stated edition is 1000, but far fewer were actually made, and many were said to have been lost after 9/11 which is why this is so scarce.
Makes a memorable and very special gift! This beautiful, extremely rare limited edition, signed and numbered bowl/plate was handmade in southern Italy by master artisans near Vietri sul Mare. It was designed by renowned American painter Allan D'Arcangelo. From the late 1990s through the millenium, Buon Ricordo America, Inc. commissioned famous artists, including D'Arcangelo to design plates for their flagship restaurants as special one-time only charitable fundraiser. D'Arcangelo designed the present work for the renowned NY Italian restaurant - I Tre Merli. D'Arcangelo's design depicts one of the restaurant's signature dishes, Trenette Al Pesto. This plate is a real collector's item -- and difficult to find -- it was created in a limited edition of only 1000 and never mass marketed. The artist's signature is fired into the plate on the verso (back) and numbered from the limited edition of 1000. In the early 2000s, Buon Ricordo America, Inc. collaborated with some of America's most prominent artists - including D'Arcangelo - to make a series of plates for iconic restaurants throughout the United States. The project ended after the September 11th terrorist attacks, which affected many of the restaurants in Manhattan.

These plates were made in conjunction with Buon Ricordo America, Inc., an offshoot of the Italian restaurant union, Boun Ricordo (Unione Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo). The plates capture the essence of each restaurant’s local specialty, and the decoration is embellished with references to the restaurant, its local territory and products. The rim of each plate bears the name of the restaurant and the town or village it is in. This plate was made from local clay from a quarry in Ogliara, a few kilometres from Vietri. After biscuit firing they are coated and decorated by hand by skilled craftsmen using a carbon “dusting” technique similar to that once used for Renaissance fresco painting. Once the plates were decorated they are glazed and fired for a second time to fix their vivid colors.

The verso (back) of the plate reads as follows:

"Limited edition designed by the artist to benefit charitable organizations dedicated feeding needy homebound elderly persons and helping children at risk from abuse and disease."
"The artist does not derive any income from the sale of this plate."
"Microwave, oven and dishwasher safe."