A PAIR OF EMPIRE ORMOLU THIRTEEN-LIGHT CANDELABRA

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UMBERTO II OF ITALY Born Prince of Piedmont in 1904, Umberto of Savoy became commander in chief of the Army early in his military career. This role was however merely formal, the real power belonging to Mussolini. Following the overthrow of Benito Mussolini in 1943, King Victor Emmanuel handed over his constitutional functions to his son Umberto, who was made Lieutenant General of the Realm and earned widespread praise for his role in the following three years. Umberto succeeded his father in 1946 but was only King for 33 days. He left in for exile in Portugal and was not allowed to return to Italy. When Umberto II, nicknamed 'Europe's grandfather', died in 1983, the 999-year reign of the House of Savoy was brought to an end. PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE Perhaps the most important bronzier of the Empire period, Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), studied sculpture at the Academy of Saint-Luc, where his talent was noted by Houdon. He received his maîtrise as fondeur-ciseleur in 1772 and, from 1774, worked first with Gouthière, then with Prieur, and opened his own workshop in 1776. Thomire supplied mounts to Weisweiler and Beneman, but also collaborated with Jean-Claude-Thomas Duplessis, the artistic director of the Sèvres porcelain manufactory, supplying him with with mounts for porcelain. When Duplessis died in 1783, Thomire took over his position, and subsequently supplied all the gilt-bronze mounts for the manufactory. In 1809 Napoléon made him ciseleur de l'Empereur and in 1811 he worked with the goldsmith Odiot when he made the celebrated cradle for the King of Rome. In the same year his firm became fournisseur de leurs Majestés; in fact the turnover of the firm under Napoléon reached the colossal sum of 500,000 francs (per annum) and did not suffer after the Restauration. Having produced an unparalleled oeuvre, Thomire relinquished control of his business in 1823 to his sons-in-law and the firm managed to survive even after Napoléon's downfall, winning numerous medals at various exhibitions, before it finally ceased to trade in 1852. THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR (LOTS 41-49)

A PAIR OF EMPIRE ORMOLU THIRTEEN-LIGHT CANDELABRA

ATTRIBUTED TO PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE, CIRCA 1810

Details

A PAIR OF EMPIRE ORMOLU THIRTEEN-LIGHT CANDELABRA
ATTRIBUTED TO PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE, CIRCA 1810
Each modelled with a classically draped and winged figure of Victory holding aloft a flower-decorated baluster-shaped vase issuing two tiers of scrolling candle-branches decorated with flowerheads, acanthus and anthemion, and a central leaf-wrapped torch, supported by a sphere on a simulated cloud cast with winged putti, and a stepped rectangular base decorated with ribbon-bound floral wreaths and military trophies, on a leaf-tip cast square spreding plinth, each numbered '104'
48¾ in. (124 cm.) high; 16½ in. (42 cm.) diameter (2)

Provenance

King Umberto II of Italy, from whom purchased by the grandfather of the present owner.

Literature

R. Guedes, Reais Mesas do Norte de Portugal, Lisbon, 1997, 'Mesa Casa de Saboia', pp. 22-29.

Exhibited

Porto, Alfândega, Reais Mesas do Norte de Portugal, 1995.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

These impressive candelabra with winged figures of Victory derive from a design for similar candelabra by the architect Charles Percier as part of a commission to furnish Empress Josephine's bedroom at the château de Saint-Cloud (illustrated in M.L. Myers, French Architectural and Ornament Drawings of the Eighteenth Century, New York, 1991, pp. 157-160, cat. 98). Two pairs of Victory candelabra attributed to Thomire are in the château de Fontainebleau (illustrated in J.P. Samoyault, Pendules et bronzes d'ameublement entrés sous le Premier Empire, Paris, 1989, p.156, cat.133) and a pair stamped by Thomire is in the Metropolitan Museum (No. 26.256.2,3, illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol.I, p.328, fig.5.2.2).

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