A pair of Restauration gilt and patinated bronze six-light candelabra

A very fine pair of Restauration gilt and patinated bronze six-light candelabra attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire, each surmounted by a gilt bronze central upright foliate vase-shaped candle nozzle with circular drip-pan encircled by five scrolled and foliate-wrapped candle branches terminated by conforming nozzles, issuing from a patinated bronze fluted columnar stem, headed by shell-shaped mounts interspersed by rosettes, on acanthus-wrapped tripartite lion paw monopodia feet upon a concave sided tripartite base
Paris, date circa 1825-30
Height 72 cm. each.
Literature: Denise Ledoux-Lebard, “Le Grand Trianon: Meubles et Objets d’Art”, 1975, p.128, illustrating a closely related pair of gilt bronze candelabra delivered by Thomire et Cie that the firm delivered in 1837 to the cabinet de travail de la Reine at the Grand Trianon, Versailles.
These handsome 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 in Ledoux-Lebard and also in Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, “Vergoldete Bronzen”, 1986, p. 393, pl. 5.17.12). Another comparable set of gilt bronze four-light candelabra were ordered by Baron Per Adolf Tamm (1774-1856) during the 1830s (later sold by Christie’s 2nd October 2013, lot 306). Baron Tamm had been asked by his friend, Oscar, Crown Prince of Sweden to entertain Crown Prince Alexander II of Russia to a grand dinner, during his visit to Sweden in 1837. In preparation of the visit, Baron Tamm ordered a complete gilt bronze and cut-glass table service from Thomire, which included a magnificent surtout de table and the set of four candelabra, that compare to the present examples.
Born into a family of ciseleurs, Thomire began working with the renowned bronzier Pierre Gouthière as well as Jean-Louis Prieur, 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 was commissioned by the royal household, Thomire frequently collaborated with the marchands-mercier, 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 and Adam Weisweiler. 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 he purchased an 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 succeeded 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.