French Gilt Bronzes

Parisian bronze casters and designers such as Pierre Philippe Thomire, Claude Galle and Jean-Simon Deverberie are among the names behind several works of 17th- and 18th-century gilt bronze clocks, candelabra and gilt candlesticks from France.

Pierre Philippe Thomire: A pair of large late Empire gilt and patinated bronze candelabra with plinths of green ‘Vert de Mer’. Early 19th century. Estimate: DKK 600,000. 

L'Amérique: A Directoire patinated and gilt bronze allegorical mantel clock 'au bon sauvage' with figure personifying America. First quarter of the 19th century. Estimate: DKK 100,000-150,000. 

The auction also offers a wide range of furniture and carpets, including this beautiful Serapi carpet from Northwest Persia. 1890-1910. 557 x 368 cm. Estimate: DKK 250,000.

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At this year's first Live Auction in Copenhagen, the highlights among the antiques will include a number of French bronzes. They were designed around 1800 and made in the styles of Louis XVI and Empire. It is rare that we at one auction can present as large a collection as this and of such high quality.

Pierre Philippe Thomire

Among the highlights are two large late Empire candelabra, each adorned with a Roman Vestal priestess. The candelabra were made in the early 1800s by Pierre Philippe Thomire (1757-1853), who was the leading bronze caster in France. He was affiliated with the famous porcelain factory Manufacture Royale de Sèvres, and as his fame increased after the French Revolution, his customers ended up including some of society’s wealthiest people and European royal houses. The candelabra have since been owned by the passionate art collector Robert de Balkany, who owned a number of department stores in Europe.

L'Amérique

Another French treasure from the same period is a patinated and gilt bronze mantel clock made after a drawing by Jean-Simon Deverberie (1764-1824), which is located at the "Bibliothèque Nationale" in Paris. The clock is adorned with a young woman sitting in a feathered dress with a spear in her hand and an alligator at her feet. The elements are meant to be interpreted as an allegory of America. Like many other artefacts from approx. 1800, the offered mantel clock can be seen as a tribute to the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Homme Naturel".

Among the other bronzes at the auction are two pairs of Empire candelabra attributed to the famous bronze caster Claude Galle (1759-1815) and an Empire mantel clock decorated with Cupid on a horse-drawn carriage, which was also made after a drawing by the talented Jean-Simon Deverberie.

Auction: Wednesday 27 February at 2 pm at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen 

Preview: 21-25 February at the same address

View all the lots of the antique auction
Read more about the auction

 

For further information, please contact:

Henrik Schleppegrel: +45 8818 1145 · hsc@bruun-rasmussen.dk

Anders Fredsted: +45 8818 1142 · afr@bruun-rasmussen.dk

Peter Broe: +45 8818 1143 · peb@bruun-rasmussen.dk