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Boon Gallery
Jean Dubuffet (Le Havre 1901-1985 Paris) Zône Habitée, 1980 Acrylic on canvas 100 x 81 cm Monogram lower right Literature: M. Loreau, Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet: Sites aux figurines, partitions, Fascicule XXXIII, Paris, 1982, p. 98, n° 238, ill. Exhibition: Waddington Galleries, Jean Dubuffet, London, 1981
De Jonckheere
Pieter Neefs The Elder (Antwerp 1578/1590-after 1656/1661), and the participation of Frans Francken The Younger (Antwerp, 1581-1642) for the figures Church Interior, inspired by Antwerp Cathedral Oil on panel 41.5 x 71 cm Signed Peeter De Neef Franck In. Stamped on the back with the mark MV of the manufacturer Michiel Vriendt, active in Antwerp between 1615 and 1637, and the arms of the City of Antwerp Provenance: Letizia Bonaparte Collection (1750-1836); Charles Talbot Collection (1753-1827), through Lucien Bonaparte; Bertram Arthur Talbot Collection, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury, 17th Earl of Waterford (1832-1856) Alton Towers, Stafford; Sale, Shrewsbury, Christie & Manson, London, 4 July, 1857, lot 300; Sholto Charles John Hay Douglas Collection, 20th Earl of Morton (1906-1976); Sotheby’s, London Belgravia, 28 July 1976, lot 42; private collection, Spain
Gilden's Art Gallery
marc chagall
Marc Chagall (Vitebsk 1887-1985 Saint-Paul de Vence) Peintre, Ange et Amoureux, 1980 Tempera on masonite 40.6 x 34.9 cm Signed lower right corner 'Marc Chagall' Inscribed, signed and dated verso 'Tempera/Marc Chagall/1980' The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Chagall Committee from 31 March 1992 issued by Jean-Louis Prat Provenance: Sotheby's New York, Sale 7132, 14 May 1998, lot 366; Collection of Bridget & Jerome Dobson, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
COLNAGHI
willem adriaensz key
Willem Adriaensz Key (Breda 1515/16-1568 Antwerp) The Crucifixion, circa 1550 Oil on panel 102 x 74 cm Signed on the cross: W. KAY Provenance: private collection, Belgium, until 2023; acquired from the above Literature: Koenraad Jonckheere, Willem Key (1516-1568): Portrait of a Humanist Painter, Turnhout, 2011 This signed panel is a recently rediscovered work by Willem Key. Key is most known for his portrait paintings, which account for roughly two-thirds of his known output. However, he was also a gifted painter of historical and religious subjects - this picture is a testament to Key’s powerful religious achievements, several of which were destroyed during the Iconoclastic Fury, or Beeldenstorm, that swept the Low Countries and famously struck Antwerp in 1566. Willem Key was a prominent sixteenth-century painter from Antwerp, then one of the greatest commercial and artistic centres of Europe. Recognised for his exceptional talents, Key enjoyed high social and artistic status, earning the admiration of both local nobility and international figures, including Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, and Antoine Perrenot, Cardinal Granvelle.
Claes Gallery
Mangbetu slit drum Democratic Republic of Congo, Uele region Presumed period: late 19th-early 20th century Wood H 77 cm Provenance: Edith Hafter (1911-2001), Solothurn, acquired before 1970; transmitted by descent This tulip-shaped slit drum is characteristic of the Mangbetu, Zande and Mamvu of the Uele region. Called ‘nedundu’, these instruments were played in groups as part of an orchestral ensemble including xylophones, gongs or rattles, during festivities or ritual ceremonies. This type of slit drum was sometimes played in pairs by a single musician. These prestigious sound tools were also given to high dignitaries by Mangbetu chiefs ‘to invest them with authority’. (Burssens, Mangbetu. Art de cour africain de collections privées belges, 1992, p. 24). Almost the exclusive property of the local chiefs, these instruments produced a sound that had to carry very far in order to transmit messages to neighbouring villages. The instrument had to be large in order to be capable of sending drummed messages from the courtyard to distant villages. This model is exceptional for its voluminous resonance box in the shape of a half-moon, slightly domed, with clean lines. On each side, a handle is sculpted into the body. The beauty of its abstract form makes this instrument a sculpture in its own right, carved from very hard wood, which has been blackened and meticulously patinated.
Stern Pissarro Gallery
marc chagall
Marc Chagall (Vitebsk 1887-1985 Saint-Paul de Vence) Les Glaïeuls, 1950 Gouache, watercolour, pastel and coloured wax crayons on paper 65 x 50.7 cm Signed lower left 'Marc Chagall' This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Marc Chagall Provenance: private collection, USA, circa 1985; thence by descent
Thomas Deprez Fine Arts
pieter braecke
Pieter Jan Braecke (Nieuwpoort 1858-1938 Nossegem) L'Humanité, before 1906 Marble H 220 cm Unique piece Signed on the base 'P. Braecke' Provenance: created for the grand hall of the Hôtel Aubecq (1903) by Victor Horta (1861-1947); private collection Octave Aubecq, Brussels (industrialist and founder of Le Cresuet); by descent into the family; sold following the demolition of the Hôtel Aubecq in 1949; possibly bought with part of the furniture by Louis Wittamer-De Camps, Brussels (?); circa 1979, in the collection of Mme Vanderperre, Antoing; private collection, New Jersey; private estate, Queens, New York Literature: Braecke's masterpiece ‘L'Humanité’ has been widely published and discussed, both at the time in the press, as well as in more recent art historical and architecture related publications up to the present day. A full literature and press list are available on request Exhibitions: Salon triennal de Gand, 1906 (cf. version in plaster); Pour L'Art, XVe exposition annuel, Brussels, 1908 (cf. cat. p. 11, plaster); Exposition universelle de Gand, 1913 (cf. cat. p. 66, n° 574, Hall 20, plaster) Related works: A plaster cast of a first version of the sculpture was given by the artist to his hometown of Nieuwpoort, Belgium in 1925, and has now been confirmed as having been destroyed during the Second World War. A single plaster version of the sculpture in its final conception survives today, and was gifted by the artist's widow, Elodea Roméo-Braecke, from the artist's studio to the city of Nieuwpoort, after the Second World War. It is currently held at the city's district court. Related documents: The present sculpture can be identified on several photographs taken at the Hôtel Aubecq during its painstaking demolition in 1949. The building's façade was saved by the Belgian government and awaits its reconstruction, while the original furniture was dispersed and is currently held in private collections as well as important institutions such as the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Horta.
Herwig Simons Fine Arts
Manierist Mascaron Italy, mid 16th century Istrian marble H 50 x W 40 cm An expressive Mascaron in Istrian marble of a lion's head holding a ring in his mouth. Istrian marble was widely used during the Renaissance, particularly in Venetian architecture, and its soft tones beautifully complement the intricate details of the lion's face and ring. This design is symbolic: lions represented strength, protection, and authority and gave the building grandeur, serving as a sculptural accent that elevates the aesthetic quality of the entrance or facade.
Van Herck-Eykelberg
Georges Vantongerloo (Antwerp 1886-1965 Paris) Study for Variant 'Curves', 1939 Gouache on paper 17.6 x 17.8 cm Titled, located, dated, and signed on verso 'Paris 1939' Provenance: Max Bill Estate; Max Bill-Georges Vantongerloo Foundation Annely Juda Fine Art, London; private collection, New York; Galerie Harold t'Kint de Roodenbeke, Brussels; private collection, Belgium Literature: Jan Ceuleers, Georges Vantongerloo, Ronny Van de Velde - Pandora, Antwerp, 1996, p. 200; Naum Gabo, Georges Vantongerloo, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, exh. cat., Annely Juda Fine Art, London, cat. 57 (ill.); Angela Thomas Schmid, Georges Vantongerloo: A Retrospective, exh. cat., Annely Juda Fine Art, London, cat. 59 (ill.) Georges Vantongerloo (1886-1965) was one of the founding members of De Stijl in 1918 along with Theo Van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, among others. The Antwerp-based artist created sculptures as well as paintings and gouaches and is considered one of the pioneers of abstract art. He was a member of the 'Cercle et Carré' group and founded the Abstraction-Création group in Paris in 1931 to promote abstract art. At first, his abstract works still followed the straight line and angle but from 1937, curves and circles entered Vantongerloo's work. With the curved line, his work becomes more lyrical and playful. Rational volumes and proportions are replaced by lines that reflect an expression of energy.
Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris/Brussels
Shirley Jaffe (USA, Elizabeth 1923-2016 Louveciennes, France) Untitled, circa 1955 Oil on canvas 174.5 x 101.5 x 4 cm Provenance: the Artist’s studio; Estate of Shirley Jaffe; Galerie Nathalie Obadia Dated circa 1955, Shirley Jaffe's Untitled is a work that is both remarkable and characteristic of this decisive decade, for its composition of bursts of small, independent brushstrokes that coalesce into irregular blocks. These shapes, composed of countless brushstrokes and sometimes evoking natural forms, are inserted into surfaces that are more modulated than before, and in which patches of local color appear. Fine glazes and dramatic shifts from light to dark contribute to the luminous transparency of her works from the 1950s, which seem flooded with a beautiful, roborative clarity. At the time, Shirley Jaffe was looking for “the moment in a painting that was unusual”. The important thing, for her, was to “bring the forms out of the background, while constantly tilting the balance”. In her works from this period, she often succeeded in giving the impression that shapes emanate naturally from the application of paint, and that compositions become unstable, sometimes radically so. This text appears in Raphaël Rubinstein's 2014 catalog Les Formes de la Dislocation. This work has never been exhibited. Courtesy of Shirley Jaffe Estate / ADAGP, Paris 2024 and Galerie Nathalie Obadia Paris/Brussels © Bertrand Huet / tutti image
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Univers du Bronze
raymond delamarre
torse du diadumene (1936)
Plaster exhibited at the Salon des Tuileries (cat. n°439). Bronze, richly dark black brown patina H : 119 cm, L : 51,5 cm, D : 27 cm Bronze cast for the patron M. Giron (commissioned in December 1937), signed "Raymond Delamarre", dated "1937", cast by "Bisceglia Cire Perdue Malakoff" (seal), only one bronze example currently identified. Cast circa 1937-1938
Philippe Heim
Kathleen Petyarre (Australia, circa 1930-2018) Devil Lizard Dreaming, 2010 Acrylic on canvas 137 x 137 cm Created and exhibited: Abbaye de Daoulas 'Grand Nord-Grand Sud. Artistes Inuits et Aborigènes', 2010; Chemins du patrimoine en Finistère in co-production with the Musée des Confluences - Département du Rhône Collections: The Metropolitan Museum, New York; Musée du Quai Branly, Paris; Musée des Confluences, Lyon; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaïde; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
A&R Fleury
Sam Francis (San Matteo 1923-1994 Santa Monica) The blue between the red and green, 1960 Acrylic and gouache on paper 85.8 x 58.7 cm - framed 102.5 x 76 cm Provenance: private collection, Switzerland; Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, 1990; André Emmerich Gallery, New York; Dina and Raphael Recanati Collection, New York Exhibitions: New York, André Emmerich Gallery, Sam Francis: Paintings on paper 1956-1964, October-November 1990, ill.; Los Angeles, Manny Silverman Gallery, Sam Francis : Selected works, April-May 1999, n°1, ill. Literature: D. Burchett-Lere, ed, Sam Francis Online Catalogue Raisonné Project, n° SF60-1116
Galerie Oscar De Vos
frits van den berghe
Frits Van den Berghe (Ghent, 1883-1939) The poor, 1925 Oil on canvas 177 x 115 cm Signed lower right 'FVBerghe' Provenance: collection Paul-Gustave Van Hecke, Brussels; collection Walter Schwarzenberg, Brussels; collection Victor Sevranck, Brussels; collection Maurice & Yvonne Naessens, Meise (Brussels) Literature: P. Boyens, Sint-Martens-Latem. Kunstenaars dorp in Vlaanderen (Tielt: Lannoo, 1992), p. 443, p. 525, n° 160 (ill.); Boyens, P., G. Marquenie & W. Van den Bussche, Retrospectieve Frits Van den Berghe, exh. cat. (Ostend: PMMK, 1999), p. 104, n° 64 (ill.); Boyens, P., Frits Van den Berghe. Oeuvre catalogue (Ghent: SDZ, 1999), p. 203, n° 385 (ill.); Boyens, P., Een zeldzame weelde. Kunst van Latem en Leiestreek 1900-1930, exh. cat. (Ghent/Amsterdam: Ludion, 2001), p. 191, n° 229 (ill.); Carpentier-Lebeer, G., P. Baert-Jaspers, J. D'Haese e.a., Maurits ter ere van het Vlaams expressionisme (Antwerp: Bank van Parijs en de Nederlanden/Mercatorfonds, 1983), n° 143 (ill.); De Jonge, C.H., K.G. Boon, J.V.C. Hefting e.a., Vlaamse kunstenaars van de Leie 1890-1940, exh. cat. (Utrecht: Centraal Museum, 1947), p. 28, cat. n° 10 (ill.); Denninger-Schreuder, C., Vlaamse expressionisten, exh. cat. (Kortenhoef: 1993), p. 20, p. 23 (ill.); De Ridder, A., Les expositions à Bruxelles. Le Salon des IX, in: Sélection VI, n° 1 (Brussels: 1926), p. 40 (ill.); De Ridder, A., L'Evolution de Frits Van den Berghe, in: Sélection, cahier 12 (Brussels: 1931), p. 74 (ill.); De Ridder, A., In memoriam Frits Van den Berghe, de kunstenaar (Ghent: Vooruit, 15.10.1939); De Ridder, A., Frits Van den Berghe, exh. cat. (Brussels: Palais des Beaux-Arts, 1962), cat. n° 33 (ill.); Exh. cat. Brussels (1960), n° 7, pl. 39 (ill.); Fierens, P. & J. Cassou, Laethem-Saint-Martin, colonie d'artistes en Flandre 1890-1940, exh. cat. (Paris: Musée National d'Art Moderne, 1948), n° 52 (ill.); Fierens, P. & N. Margue, Laethem-Saint-Martin, colonie d'artistes en Flandre, exh. cat. (Luxembourg: Musées de l'Etat, 1948), n° 52 (ill.); Hoozee, R., M. Tahon-Vanroose & S. Bown-Taevenier, Frits Van den Berghe (Ghent: Gemeentekrediet/Stad Gent, 1983), p. 115, p. 408, n° 69 (ill.); Hoozee, R., W. Van den Bussche, P. Boyens e.a., Expressions Flamandes 1900-1930, exh. cat. (Villeneuve d'Ascq: Musée d'Art Moderne, 1988), p. 99, p. 123 (ill.); Hoozee, R., P. Boyens & W. Van den Bussche, Pioniers van het Vlaams Expressionisme, exh. cat. (Groningen: Groninger Museum, 2004), p. 81 (ill.); Hoozee, R., M. Miyazawa, Light of Flandres. Images of a beautiful Belgian Village, exh. cat. (Japan: Himeji City Museum of Art, Bunkamura Museum of Art & Okuda Genso Sayume Art Museum, 2010), p. 131, p. 147, n° 87 (ill.); Langui, E., Frits Van den Berghe (Ghent: Vooruit, 1933) 12 (ill.); Langui, E., Frits Van den Berghe 1883-1939. Beschrijvende catalogus van zijn geschilderd oeuvre (Brussels: Laconti, 1966), n° 195 (ill.); Langui, E., Frits Van den Berghe 1883-1939 (Antwerp: Mercatorfonds, 1968), p. 81, p. 307, n° 195 (ill.); Langui, E., Het expressionisme in België (Brussels: 1970), p. 105, 62 (ill.); Langui, E. Espressionisti fiamminghi - Da Ensor a Permeke, exh. cat. (Rome: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, 1977), n° 79; Pauwels, P.J.H., Als een fonkelenden spiegel (Sint-Martens-Latem: Galerie Oscar De Vos, 2019), p. 256 (ill.); Schimmel, P. & H. van Leuven, Flemish expressions, representional painting in the twentieth century (Tielt/Newport: Lannoo/Newport Art Museum, 1986), p. 169, n° 113 (ill.); Sosset, L.-L., Un peintre insolite, Frits Van den Berghe, in: Les Beaux-Arts (Brussels: 4 May 1962), p. 5; Schoonbaert, L.M.A. & K. Peereboom, Flemish Expressionism, exh. cat. (Tampa & Antlanta: The Tampa Museum & High Museum of Art, 1980), n° 64 (ill.); Vanbeselaere, W., De Vlaamse Schilderkunst van 1850 tot 1950. Van Leys tot Permeke (Brussels: 1959), p. 259, p. 262, n° 87 (ill.); Van Cauteren, K. e.a., OER. De wortels van Vlaanderen, exh. cat. (Antwerp: The Phoebus Foundation, 2017), pp. 244-245 (ill.); Van Cauteren, K. e.a., Coming home. Flemish art 1880-1930 (Antwerp: The Phoebus Foundation, 2017), pp. 348-349 (ill.); Van Hecke, P.-G. (1947), pl. 50 (ill.) Exhibitions: Brussels 1925, n° 123; Antwerp 1926, n° 17; Brussels 1927, n° 18; Antwerp 1940, n° 61; Brussels 1946, n° 153; Utrecht & The Hague 1947, n° 10; Luxembourg 1948, n° 52; Paris 1948, n° 52; Charleroi 1958, n° 11; Antwerp 1959, n° 37; Brussels 1960, n° 7, pl. 39; Brussels 1962, n° 33; Rome 1977, n° 79; Tampa & Atlanta 1980, n° 64; Antwerp 1983, n° 143 (ill.); Ghent 1983, n° 69; Newport Beach 1986-1987, n° 113; Fort Lauderdale 1987, n° 113; Sint-Martens-Latem 1987 (ill.); Villeneuve d'Ascq 1988, p. 99; Kortenhoef 1993, p. 23; Ghent/Deurle/Deinze, 2001, n° 229; Groningen 2004, n° 1; Japan 2010, n° 85; Ghent 2017, p. 244 ‘The Poor’ (1925) is the expressionist masterpiece by renowned Belgian artist Frits Van den Berghe to be presented. This painting, from the prestigious collections of Paul-Gustave Van Hecke, Walter Schwarzenberg, Victor Sevranckx, and Maurice & Yvonne Naessens, is a powerful social pamphlet and one of Van den Berghe's most important works. ‘The Poor’ features a telling double scene, centring on the stark contrast between wealth and poverty. Outside in the snow, a skinny wanderer wanders, while inside a beneficent woman wallows in abundance, illustrated by the image of her breastfeeding a piglet. The colours in the painting - the chilly blue versus the warm red-pink - reinforce the emotional charge of this contrast. Van den Berghe's work from 1922-1925 reflects his fascination with Flemish rural life, imbued with irony and social commentary. In Afsnee, where he worked with artists such as Gustave De Smet and Constant Permeke, he painted ‘The Poor’ in 1925, a work that expresses deep human sympathy with the harsh reality of the Flemish countryside. The painting is characterised by its narrative power and shows Van den Berghe's keen observation of social inequality. The tramp in the snow, accompanied by his faithful dog, symbolises the hopelessness of poverty, while the woman in her warm, rosy surroundings symbolises opulence and waste. Van den Berghe thus offers a philosophical reflection on the human condition, in which wealth and poverty exist side by side. Frits Van den Berghe (1883-1939) was a prominent Belgian artist and a key figure within Flemish expressionism. His work is characterised by strong colours, dramatic contrasts and emotionally charged scenes that often reflect the hard existence of man in the Flemish countryside. Van den Berghe began his career as a symbolist, but found his true voice in expressionism, in which he depicted themes such as loneliness, poverty and alienation. His masterpieces, such as ‘The Poor’ (1925), show his deep compassion for ordinary people and his sharp social criticism.
Klaas Muller
Frans Snijders (Antwerp, 1579-1659) Kitchen interior with two dogs, offal and a basket with fruits and vegetables, circa 1620 Oil on canvas 113 x 183 cm Signed upper left: F. SNIJDERS. Fecit Provenance: sale Campo, Antwerp, 13-15 December 1966, lot 90; sale Sotheby’s, London, 7 October 1981, lot 123, ill. p. 89; sale Sotheby’s, London, 7 July 1982, lot 233, ill.; private collection, Belgium In a kitchen, a dog (a Friesian Wetterhound) guards its booty from another dog that appears on the left. Apparently, he has pulled away from his chain and is not giving up his booty (entrails) lightly. On the right of the painting, we see an overturned basket with artichokes, asparagus, a lemon and apples. At the top left, the painting is proudly signed 'F. SNIJDERS.FECIT'. Frans Snijders had a predilection for depicting dogs and they appear frequently in his oeuvre. About seven -mostly larger works as is the case here- can be named as scenes in larders or front rooms of kitchens. The theme is usually similar: a dog defends its stolen loot against another dog (e.g. a painting on loan with a similar theme among others in the Snijders-Rockoxhuis 'Larder with dogs and a cows head'). It remains conjecture whether Snijders was pursuing a metaphor or deeper symbolism with this theme. However: each time, he shows himself to be a fantastic cinematographer and manages to render a scene just before the climax through which he builds the tension. Also typical is the dog's head on the left, which is only partially depicted (cut off from the composition it seems) which generates even more movement. The textures of the fur, meat, vegetables and fruit are fantastically rendered.
Galerie Taménaga
pierre bonnard
Pierre Bonnard (Fontenay-aux-Roses 1867-1947 Cannet) Femme nue à la lampe, circa 1900 Oil on cardboard 53 x 33 cm Stamp of the signature at the lower right 'Bonnard' Provenance: Bonnard estate; private collection Literature: Jean et Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre peint, supplément 1887-1947, n° 01830 repr. p. 207 Exhibitions: Musée de Lodève, Bonnard, guetteur sensible du quotidien, 20 June-1 November 2009, n° 14, p. 103; Musée national des Beaux-Arts de Quebec, Pierre Bonnard, La couleur radieuse, 6 October 2016-15 January 2017, édition Skira, ill. p.87
Epoque Fine Jewels
van cleef & arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels Panther brooch, last quarter of the 20th century Onyx, emerald and diamond A stalking panther set throughout with brilliant cut diamonds, highlighted with onyx dots, marquise-shaped emerald eyes and an onyx nose, mounted in 18 karat yellow gold Signed Van Cleef & Arpels and numbered Provenance: from an important estate
Chambre professionnelle belge de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (CLAM)
Miquel Barceló (Spain, Felanitx 1957) El libro de los ciegos / Book of the Blind Paris: Item, 1993 Artist's book Folio (40 x 30 cm), prototype binding consisting of rigid boards of incised and tinted plywood. Text by Evgen Bavčar printed in Braille. 48 lithographs and 33 prints by Miquel Barceló, some with added amber varnish Edition of 50 numbered copies on Augoumois paper printed in Spanish Braille, signed by the artist. Ingert ｜Antiquarian Bookseller
Kunstconsult 20th century art I objects
barbara nanning
Barbara Nanning (The Hague, 1957) Ceramic sculpture 'Hydras' from the Botanica series, 1997 Stoneware with coating of sand and pigment Ø approx. 80 cm Unique piece Provenance: collection Snijder, Aerdenhout Literature: Thimo te Duits, Barbara Nanning_evolution, Publisher nanning, 2004, p. 63 and p. 133
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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.
