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Lot Essay
The ormolu base of this guéridon is identical to that of an étagère, attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire, at Schloss Haimhausen and another at the Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe (H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 312, plate XLIV, and p. 389, fig. 5.16.18). There is a drawing for this stand, part of a bronzier catalogue, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Pierre-Philippe Thomire (d. 1843) studied sculpture at the Academy of Saint-Luc, where his talent was noted by Houdon. From 1774, he worked with Gouthière and subsequently with Prieur but he opened his own workshop in 1776. The Revolution interrupted his career, but the Empire period brought renewed prosperity, partly because of his close association to Jacob-Desmalter, for whom Thomire produced ormolu mounts, and partly because of the Emperor's patronage. The firm, later run by his sons-in-law, ceased to trade in 1852.
Pierre-Philippe Thomire (d. 1843) studied sculpture at the Academy of Saint-Luc, where his talent was noted by Houdon. From 1774, he worked with Gouthière and subsequently with Prieur but he opened his own workshop in 1776. The Revolution interrupted his career, but the Empire period brought renewed prosperity, partly because of his close association to Jacob-Desmalter, for whom Thomire produced ormolu mounts, and partly because of the Emperor's patronage. The firm, later run by his sons-in-law, ceased to trade in 1852.