Furniture Made by a Bronze Maker

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

In Paris in the eighteenth century, the work of the cabinetmaker and of the bronze maker were to complement each other, for the production of luxury furniture. At the end of that century and the beginning of the next one, a new step is reached: really, why would we not produce full bronze furniture?

The console, a narrow furniture without drawers, applies very well to such a development. Here is a pair of consoles in bronze, that comes to Paris (Drouot) under the hammer of Thierry de Maigret on June 12.

Their luxury justifies the estimate of 600 K €. The bronze is finely carved and gilded in three shades: matt, shiny and silvered. Cyrillic inscriptions attest that they once went to Russia. But who made them?

Winged cherubs placed as caryatids are recorded motifs in the work of Pierre-Philippe Thomire. The French commercial links with Russia are also known, including in this network where I discussed it last year in an article on Thomire and Dugourc in the Furnishings group.

Our consoles measure 82 x 108 x 31 cm. Each is equipped with its marble. The spacers are adorned with a potpourri vase which certainly serves to balance the furniture.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Unsold. The possible attribution to Thomire was only supported by comparisons of decorative motifs. For the price level that was requested, the market was not convinced.