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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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A very fine set of four Empire gilt bronze nine-light candelabra attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire, each surmounted by a central upright fluted vase-shaped candle nozzle with circular drip-pan encircled by eight scrolled and foliate-wrapped candle branches terminated by conforming nozzles, issuing from a fluted columnar stem on a tripartite lion paw monopodia plinth with splayed lotus leaf motifs upon a conformingly shaped and stepped tripartite base. The arms numbered with Roman numerals Paris, date circa 1810 Height 108 cm, width 39.5 cm. each. These wonderful candelabra compare closely with those by the celebrated Empire fondeur-ciseleur Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), of which a closely related pair by his firm were delivered in 1837 to the cabinet de travail de la Reine at the Grand Trianon, Versailles (illustrated Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, “Vergoldete Bronzenâ€, 1986, p. 393, pl. 5.17.12). Born into a family of ciseleurs, Thomire began working with the renowned bronzier Pierre Gouthière (1732-1813) as well as Jean-Louis Prieur (b. 1725 d. after 1785) ciseleur-doreur du roi, before opening up his own workshop in 1776. Famed for his production of finely chased gilt bronze objets de luxe, of which a large quantity were commissioned by the royal household, Thomire frequently collaborated with the marchands-merciers, such as Simon-Philippe Poirier and his successor Dominique Daguerre. In addition Thomire supplied finely chased mounts to leading ébénistes of his day such as Guillaume Benneman (maître 1785, d. 1811) and Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820). Thomire also helped establish his name when working at the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, firstly as an assistant to its artistic director Jean-Claude Duplessis in making the factory’s mounts; following Duplessis’s death in 1783, Thomire took over the elder’s job and in this capacity supplied all the gilt bronze mounts for the factory’s porcelain. His pre Revolutionary success was somewhat eclipsed by his fame during the Empire. In 1806 he became the first bronzier to be awarded a gold medal at the Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie. He won another gold medal in 1809, in which year he was also appointed ciseleur de l’Empereur. In addition to Napoleon himself Thomire was patronised by the Emperor’s family as well as by foreign royal courts. To meet growing demand he needed to expand his business and thus in 1804 purchased the extensive business run by the marchand-mercier Martin-Eloi Lignereux, which allowed Thomire 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. At the same time Thomire also supplied beautiful gilt bronze mounts to the leading ébénistes as well as mounts to the porcelain manufacturers. Soon after 1815 the partnership with Duterme was dissolved and under its new style, Thomire et Cie thrived once more under the restored Bourbons. In 1823 Thomire won a gold medal for sculpture and in the same year retired though he continued to produce sculptures and regularly exhibited at the Paris Salon until 1834. His business was then taken over by his two sons-in-law Louis-Auguste-Cesar Carbonelle and André-Antoine Beauvisage, under whose direction the firm continued to thrive and remained in business up until 1852 though Thomire’s renown has continued to the present day. |