IMAGE DETAILS

Gallery de Potter d’Indoye

Guéridon, circa 1790
Attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire (Paris, 1751-1843)
Gilt and patinated bronze, with a marble top
H 90.25 cm x Ø 62.25 cm
Literature: Guillaume Janneau, Le Meuble Léger en France, Ed. Hartmann, Paris 1952, p. 242

This pedestal table, attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire, is one of a small group of similar ormolu pedestal tables with a patina finish on a griffin tripod base. One is in the Musée Nissim de Camondo in Paris, acquired from the supplier Seligmann, as being by Thomire, another was in the collection of Boniface de Castellane and Anna Gould at the Palais Rose, Paris, sold at Christie's Paris on 7 March 2017, lot 116. Another example was in the collection of Helena Rubinstein and John Dorrance and now belongs to Dalva Brothers, New York. A related but more elaborate model, whose legs are supported by winged female caryatids, formed part of Pierre Delbée's famous interior at Maison Jansen in Paris, was sold by Christie's in New York on 28 April 2017, lot 21

Born in Paris in 1751, the son of a chiseller, Pierre-Philippe Thomire studied sculpture at the Académie de St-Luc under Augustin Pajou and Jean-Antoine Houdon. He then joined the workshop of the bronzemaker Pierre Gouthière, who gave him a perfect knowledge of the trade, before opening his own workshop in 1776. His skills and talent were quickly recognised at court and won over the royal couple. In particular, he assisted Jean-Louis Prieur in creating the bronze ornaments for the coach dedicated to the coronation of Louis XVI. Succeeding Thomas Duplessis as bronzemaker at the Manufacture de Sèvres in 1783, he became the King's official chaser and gilder. The delivery of bronzes for a monumental vase from Sèvres now in the Louvre (inv. OA 9590) further enhanced his reputation, which was high on the eve of the Revolution. In 1804, in association with the Dutermes, he acquired the important collection of the merchant-merchant and bronzemaker Martin-Eloy Lignereux. In recognition of his merit, he was awarded a gold medal at the 1806 Exhibition of Industrial Products. His reputation enabled him to supply a prestigious clientele with some of the finest objects of the early 20th century, and to receive orders to refurbish imperial residences such as Fontainebleau and the Grand Trianon. The City of Paris also made use of his skills for gifts to sovereigns, such as a clock given to Marie-Louise in 1810 on the occasion of her marriage to Napoleon I, now in the Louvre (inv. OA 9511), or the King of Rome's cradle, works for which he collaborated with leading painters, cabinet-makers and silversmiths such as Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot and Pierre-Paul Prud'hon.