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A pair of very fine quality…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
19-Sep-2023
Lot No.
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Description:
A pair of very fine quality gilt-bronze and bronze candelabra, attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), French, early 19th century. Provenance: Partridge, New Bond Street, London, circa 1986. The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychell, 16 Moule Avenue Brighton Victoria, Australia. These extraordinary candelabra display a myriad of Classical symbolism, so popular in France during the Empire period. The central figures, with arms up-stretched, possibly represent Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty and passion. Sacred to Aphrodite was the swan which was seen itself as a traditional symbol of beauty and grace in ancient Greece. The swan was also sacred to Apollo, the god of music in Greek mythology and hence the finely matt gilded swans that surmount these candelabra. Cherub trumpeters and rearing horses further embellish these impressive candelabra and it all adds to a sense of victorious heroism that inspired design around the time of Napoleon Bonaparte between 1800-1815. Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843) a French sculptor, was the most prominent bronzier, or producer of ornamental patinated and gilt-bronze objects and furniture mounts of the First French Empire in the neo-classical and Empire style. The young artisan first appeared in records with a set of gilt-bronze wall-lights delivered for Marie-Antoinette's card-room, which were chased by Thomire. He established his own shop in 1776. In 1783–84 Thomire received his first notable commission, casting and finishing the gilt-bronze handles modelled by Louis-Simon Boizot for a pair of Sevres porcelain vases, which today divide their time between the Musee du Louvre and the Palazzo Pitti. Under the Empire period in France, Thomire purchased fashionable premises in Rue Taitbout, Paris and exhibited at the 1806 Exposition Publique des Produits de l'Industrie, where he won a gold medal. His most prestigious commission was the execution of the cradle for the King of Rome, which was designed by Pierre Paul Prud'hon and in which Thomire collaborated with the Imperial silversmith Odiot. In a second cradle that was commissioned, Thomire alone was responsible. At the height of his business it was estimated that Thomire employed six or seven hundred workers. Under the Restauration, Thomire Duterme et Cie retained the finest clientele, among them Monsieur, the King's brother, the duc de Berry, and as furnishers to the Garde Meuble de la Couronne. Thomire cast and finished a martial allegory sculpted by Louis-Simon Boizot and applied to the upper corners of a secretary desk by Guillaume Beneman, delivered for the King's cabinet interieure at Compiegne, 1787. In a notable commission for Count Nicolay Demidoff in 1819, Thomire produced finely-made figures of Fame with doubled trumpets to serve as handles for the massive malachite-veneered vase now at the Metropolitan Museum. Thomire retired from his firm in 1823. Dimensions: 88 cm high, 26 cm wide
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Lighting: Candelabra/Candlesticks