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A superb pair of Empire gilt and patinated bronze five-light candelabra attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire, each formed as a standing classical figure with arms held aloft supporting a ribbon-tied laurel wreath with five concealed candle nozzles, each figure standing with one foot on a domed acanthus-cast plinth upon a square pedestal cast with military trophies flanked by laurel wreaths, on a stepped leaf-tipped cast base
Paris, date circa 1810
Height 33 cm. each.
Provenance: Mrs Lee Radziwill.
Although these handsome candelabra are typical of the Empire style they are unusual in having concealed nozzles hidden within their laurel wreaths. They can be compared with another pair of candelabra by the esteemed fondeur-ciseleur Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), delivered in 1809 for the Salon du Petit Appartement de l’Impératrice at Château de Fontainebleau. They, like these, feature classical females standing with one foot on tall pedestals and holding aloft a wreath composed of roses and lilies in which the candle nozzles are hidden (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, “Napoleon à Fontainebleau”, 2003, p. 94). The figures derive and treatment of the drapery derive from a design for similar candelabra (with winged Victories) by the architect Charles Percier as part of a commission to furnish the Empress Joséphine’s bedroom at Château de St. Cloud (illustrated in M. L. Myers, “French Architectural and Ornament Drawings of the Eighteenth Century”, 1991, pp. 157-160, cat. 98). The model is particularly associated with the work of Thomire of which related candelabra are illustrated in Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, “Vergoldete Bronzen”, 1986, p. 328, pl. 5.2.2.
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