A pair of Empire gilt and patinated bronze five-light candelabra, early 19th century, attributed to Pierre-Phillipe Thomire

This outstanding pair of candelabra are a very fine example of the Empire style popularised by Percier and Fontaine who commonly took their inspiration from Antiquity. They are exceptional both in terms of their design and execution with superbly cast gilt and patinated bronze, and indeed they can be brought closer to the work of perhaps the most important bronzier of the Empire period, Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843). A pair of almost identical candelabra (entirely in gilt-bronze) is attributed to Thomire and held in the Hôtel de Toulouse (illustrated in Claude Fregnal, The Great Houses of Paris, 1989, pp.217-220).

The most distinctive elements on this pair of candelabra are the winged patinated bronze figures, probably depicting Zephyr after Pierre-Paul Prud’hon’s 1814 famous painting Young Zephyr balancing above water at the Wallace Collection (inv. P295). A lithograph with a candelabrum making the use of a similar winged figure is in the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer/P. Pröschel, et. al., op.cit., vol. I, p. 390, fig. 5.17.2.).

Though the presence of a winged figure is consistent with the Empire period, candelabra of this type most commonly depicted a winged female symbolizing ‘Victory’. A few of these candelabra, which quality of craftsmanship matches the present pair, are most closely associated with the work of Pierre-Philippe Thomire. A pair by Thomire is in a private collection and evidently is modelled after a drawing by the architect Charles Percier as part of a commission to furnish Empress Josephine's bedroom at the château de St. Cloud (ill. H. Ottomeyer/P. Pröschel, et. al., Vergoldete Bronzen, vol. I, p. 328, respectively fig. 5.2.1. and fig. 5.2.2.). A similar pair of candelabra attributed to Thomire and sold at Christie’s, London, 4^th June 2014, lot 647 (£56,250) features figures holding aloft a wreath and interestingly, just like the present, a ball and foliate support, and a mount to the lower plinth depicting a winged putto amongst scrolls and leaves.

The latter mounts on the base are designed after a 1^st century AD candelabrun in the Villa Borghese (Rome), illustrated in Harry N. Abrams, The Vatican Collections, 1983, p.124, nr. 59, and later reproduced as well by Charles Heathcote Tatham in his recueil Ancient Ornamental Architecture from 1799.

Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843)

Along with his master, Pierre Gouthière, Thomire was the most celebrated bronzier during the reign of Louis XVI. He was the son of a ciseleur but also received training under the sculptors A. Pajou (1730-1809) and J.-A. Houdon (1741-1828) and he cast bronze portrait busts for both. The former was also a pupil at the Académie de Saint-Luc. He was already working for the Royal family by 1775 and collaborated with Jean-Louis Prieur ciseleur et doreur du Roi, on the bronze mounts for the coronation coach of Louis XVI. He set up his own atelier the following year and in 1783, Thomire was appointed as the modeller to the Manufacture de Sèvres, succeeding Jean-Claude Duplessis. He cast and chased bronzes the following year, which were designed by the sculptor, L.-S Boizot, for a monumental vase in dark blue porcelain intended for the Musée Centrale des Arts, which is now in the Louvre (cat. no. 407). He was still working for Sèvres during the Napoleonic period.

In the accounts of the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, his name appears frequently from 1784 as a maker of furniture mounts. He also collaborated in particular with Beneman on some pieces made for the Crown, aswell as Boulard and others, on a large screen made for Louis XVI's bedchamber at Compiègne in 1786 (now in the Louvre). He was also well known for bronzes d'ameublement such as the two sets of chenets for Marie-Antoinette's apartments at Versailles in 1786 (now in the Louvre cat.nos. 369 and 370) and the set of wall lights for Compiègne in 1787 (four are now in the Wallace Collection, London, Cat. Nos. 366-369 and two at Waddesdon Manor).

Additionally he made chimney mounts for Thierry de Ville d'Avray, the contrôleur-général des Meubles de la Couronne. He also undertook other commissions for example, he executed for the City of Paris in 1785, a set of monumental candelabra for presentation to General Lafayette to celebrate the Declaration of Independence. His other patrons included the Comte d'Artois, for furnishings for the château de Bagatelle.

During the Revolution, his atelier was used for the production of arms, but in 1804 he reverted to his former profession when he acquired the premises and business of the marchand-mercier Éloy Lignereux, the former partner and successor to Dominique Daguerre. His business flourished during the Empire period, and was renamed Thomire, Dutherme et Cie and in 1807, he is recorded as employing at least seven hundred workers. He enjoyed prestigious commissions from both the City of Paris and the Emperor including an important toilet service for presentation to Empress Marie-Louise on the occasion of her marriage and also the celebrated cradle for the King of Rome. He retired from business in 1823, and was awarded the Légion d'Honneur in 1834 and died in his 92nd year.

His style is more purely neo-classical than Gouthière's and he utilised motifs such as Victories, sphinxes and neo-classical incense burners quite early in his career. When he made mounts for the monumental Sèvres vase in 1783, he was already using the anthemion motif. During the Louis XVI period, he appears to have sometimes cast the works himself but at other times used fondeurs such as Forestier who also worked after models he provided. He is also recorded as gilding his own bronzes and sometimes employing others to do so, such as the fondeur-ciseleur Chaudron.

His work pre-revolution is to be found in all the major collections including the Louvre, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Compiègne, the Pitti Palace, Florence, the Wallace collection and Waddesdon Manor.