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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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A superb and very important pair of Empire gilt and patinated bronze seven-light candelabra by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, both stamped on the base Thomire à Paris, after a design by Charles Percier, each with a figure of Victory wearing diaphanous robes holding aloft a ring issuing six scrolling foliate branches and centred by a conforming upright branch, the beautiful figures standing on tip-toe, with one foot upon a demi-sphere upon a plinth cast with a berried wreath on a stepped square base Height 116 cm. each. Paris, date circa 1805-10 Literature: Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, “Vergoldete Bronzen”, 1986, p.328, pl. 5.2.1, illustrating two closely related studies from a detail of a sheet of designs by Charles Percier of 1802 in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. And p. 328, pl. 5.2.2, illustrating a candelabrum by Pierre-Philippe Thomire of circa 1810 with a winged Victory holding very similarly shaped candle branches issuing from a central ring, showing Victory, as here, balancing one foot upon a sphere. And p. 330, pl. 5.2.7, illustrating another Thomire candelabrum with a winged Victory wearing almost identical diaphanous robes as here, in the Musée National de Château de Fontainebleau and noted as being after a design by Charles Percier. The personification of Victory, which was well known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, became an integral element within Empire design through the intervention of Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853), Napoleon’s most important architects and designers. The design for the present candelabra is derived from designs by Charles Percier of 1802 for the furnishing of Joséphine Bonaparte’s boudoir at Château de St. Cloud. The pre-eminent bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843) often worked from Percier and Fontaine designs. Among closely related candelabra by Thomire is a pair of about 1810, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (illustrated and discussed in Ottomeyer op.cit p. 329, pl. 5.2.4). Another pair of candelabra of similar form at Château de Fontainebleau was acquired in 1804 for the salon de l’Impératrice (J. P. Samoyault, “Pendules et Bronzes d’Ameublement Entrés sous le Premier Empire”, 1989, p. 156, no. 133). A further related pair of candelabra was sold from Sheringham Hall, Norfolk in October 1986. Pierre-Philippe Thomire was the greatest craftsman of his age to work in gilt bronze and as such was patronised by Louis XVI, Napoleon and Louis XVIII as well as foreign monarchy and aristocracy. Born in Paris, he began his training under the sculptors Jean-Antoine Houdon and Augustin Pajou at the Académie Saint-Luc, Paris and then followed his father’s profession as a fondeur-ciseleur. He studied under the great fondeur-doreur, Pierre Gouthière, from whom he acquired the most refined skills in chasing and gilding, in particular matt gilding ‘dorure au matt’, to produce a subtle grainy satin-like finish. Appointed a maître-fondeur in 1772, he set up his own business in 1776 following his collaboration with Jean-Louis Prieur in the decoration of the coronation coach for Louis XVI. Other royal commissions followed; for instance he supplied gilt bronze chenets with flaming urns and sphinxes for the Louvre in 1786. In 1804 Thomire purchased from the marchand-mercier Martin-Eloi Lignereux his extensive business, thus allowing him to operate on a much larger scale. Renaming the company Thomire-Duterme et Cie, Thomire retained the showroom at rue Taitbout and from there retailed a large range of decorative objects. Many of the pieces, made at his workshop at rue Boucherat were supplied to the Imperial household and other notable families. Thomire’s production included some of the finest gilt bronze objects of the period, from centrepieces and candelabra to clock cases and furniture. |