Pierre Philippe Thomire: A Pair Of Large Empire Candelabra With Six Lights In Gilt Bronze

A pair of six-light Empire gilt bronze candelabra, early 19th century, THOMIRE, A PARIS. The stem of the candlesticks is fluted and its baluster column decorated with a hymn rests on a square base. The top has a central finial that forms six swan-shaped branches that support the candlesticks. The candlestick is stamped on the base THOMIRE A PARIS. Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1757-1853) was the most important Parisian bronze-maker of the last quarter of the 18th century and the first decades of the 19th century. Early in his career he worked for Pierre Gouthière, chaser-founder to the king, and in the mid-1970s he began collaborating with Louis Prieur. Thomire would later become one of the bronze-makers associated with the Manufacture Royale de Sèvres and would make the bronze mounts for most of the important creations of the period. After the French Revolution, he bought out Martin-Eloi Lignereux's shares, becoming the main supplier to imperial castles and palaces. He also worked for a wealthy private clientele, both French and foreign, including Napoleon and his mother. Thomire retired in 1823.