Pair of candlesticks after Thomire models

Pair of candlesticks. Paris, Empire-Restoration period, after models of PIERRE PHILIPPE THOMIRE (1751-1843).
Gilded bronze, chiseled and gilded with mercury.
Measurements: 77 cm (height). 14 x 14 cm (base).

Pair of candelabra of great size that present an identical decoration following models of the prestigious Pierre Philippe Thomire, known as the best bronze artist of Paris during the period of the Empire, who in turn was based on a design of Charles Percier. The main body of both pieces features winged victories holding fruit baskets from which emerge five candelabra decorated with grooves, acanthus leaves and spirals. Winged victories, symbols of military triumph, were a staple of Napoleonic decoration. Rectangular bases support globes.

Charles Percier (1764-1838) designed similar candelabra for Empress Josephine's cabinet at the Château de Saint-Cloud, where they were identified in the inventories of 1805 and 1807. Percier's original drawing of his candelabra (entitled Pieces of furniture in a "cabinet") is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.

Philippe Thomire was a French sculptor known, above all, for his work in gilded bronze, through which he became the leading caster in France in the late 18th century, with an important workshop established in 1775. His career saw a surprising improvement when he began assisting Jean-Claude-Thomas Duplessis, the artistic director of the Manufacture de Porcelaine de Sèvres, and, when the latter died in 1783, Thomire continued his work, creating the bronze mounts for works that combined it with porcelain. Such was his success that he continued to work during the French Revolution. In 1804 he expanded the business by buying the workshop of a cabinetmaker, which allowed him to work with furniture. He worked for Napoleon and also did so after the fall of Napoleon, retiring at the age of 72 and, even then, continuing to create sculpture (he exhibited at the Salon de Paris). Claude Michallon was a French sculptor trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a student of Charles-Antoine Bridan (1730-1805) and Guillaume Coustou. In 1785 he won the grand prize for sculpture with a bas-relief representing Brutus. He studied at the Académie de France in Rome for six years, until 1791. When he returned to Paris, he received commissions for colossal statues and won several prizes awarded by the Committee of Public Information. He competed for several projects in Paris. Claude Michallon presented his marble group d'Aconce et Cydippe at the Paris Salon in 1793, and created several models for watch cases, such as Cupid and Psychée. Among others, Pierre-Philippe Thomire cast bronzes closely following his models.