.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This pair of brûle-parfums are after the model attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire from the study of Empress Eugénie at the Tuileries, today in the Louvre (OA 5505). That pair are in grey Sèvres porcelain, here replicated in grey marble.
The model was copied by Paul Sormani in the 1870s (see Christie's, London, 24 February 2005, lot 33, £19,200) and Alfred Beurdeley (for a pair in porphyry see 'Collections Beurdeley', Palais d'Orsay, Paris, 16 May 1979, lot 41). Minor differences to the gilt-bronze detailing to the present pair suggests that they might be by Beurdeley rather than Sormani. Alternatively, the use of grey marble, possibly Kalkan jasper, suggests that they could be the work of a Russian bronzier of the period.
The model was copied by Paul Sormani in the 1870s (see Christie's, London, 24 February 2005, lot 33, £19,200) and Alfred Beurdeley (for a pair in porphyry see 'Collections Beurdeley', Palais d'Orsay, Paris, 16 May 1979, lot 41). Minor differences to the gilt-bronze detailing to the present pair suggests that they might be by Beurdeley rather than Sormani. Alternatively, the use of grey marble, possibly Kalkan jasper, suggests that they could be the work of a Russian bronzier of the period.