Dugourc and Thomire propagate the French style

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

To make a candelabra, you first draw an athénienne, about 80 cm high, and you top it with a vase where you add six springing light arms shaped as a bouquet, for a total height reaching 1.20 m. Foresee a rich decoration, with many ornaments responding to the themes of your time. Have the carving made in bronze by the best craftsman in Paris, and then contact the court of neighboring kingdoms eager to show that they follow the fashion of Paris. Then : sell !

This story takes place towards the end of the reign of Louis XVI. In 2008, on December 16 in Paris at Christie's, lot 3 of the auction sale 5555 is a pair of candelabra attributed to Philippe Pierre Thomire and estimated 1.5 million €.

In a very interesting approach, the catalog emphasizes the role, not of Thomire whom all fans of Louis XVI style know, but of Jean-Démosthène Dugourc. This designer indeed spread the Louis XVI style in Spain and Russia. The pair of candelabras that we are talking about today was probably part of an order to Thomire on the recommendations of Dugourc in favor of the royal palace in Madrid, between 1790 and 1805.

I once spoke in the Silver group of the French influence in Napoleonic Europe. It is clear that the Paris fashion had begun to spread in Europe long time before.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The pair of candelabra, too expensive, has not been sold.

However this sale, devoted entirely to a great collection, recorded an excellent result on the other lot that I included in my weekly preview. The Louis XIV commode attributed to the first BVRB was sold € 4.1 million including expenses. This result is very remarkable because this furniture is classified a historical monument in France, which prohibits him from being exported. It is common that such a constraint would lower prices.