Grand Ormolu Surtout-de-Table
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Rzemiosło artystyczne
Pierre Philippe Thomire (1751-1843)
Paris
early 19th century
Gilt bronze, cast, polished, chiselled; colourless ground glass
Signage: "THOMIRE A PARIS"
low tazza: Wil.2585/1-8; two-tier tazza: Wil.2584/1-12; three-tier tazza with figurines of dancers: Wil.2586/1-8; three-tier tazza with figurines of winged women: Wil.2587/1-4; jardiniere: Wil.2755/1-3; candlestick jardiniere with 12 branches: Wil.3434
The ormolu grand decorative table set (surtout-de-table) was made by Pierre Philippe Thomire, the greatest of the French braziers at the turn of the 18th century. This is the largest surviving surtout-de-table in Poland. Stanisław Kostka Potocki bought this Empire Style table decoration for his Wilanów collection in Paris in 1808, and entered the purchase in his Diary of Purchases. The decoration consists of a set of four different tazze and decorative jardinieres.
Pierre Philippe Thomire was a disciple of Pierre Gouthier, a prominent bronzier credited with the invention of the chemical technique of matte bronze gilding. Thomire was born in 1751 in Paris. In 1776-1823, he ran a workshop of his own, and was prized as an exceptionally gifted sculptor. From the beginning of his career he cooperated with the Meissen works, setting its china in gilt bronze. At the same time, he made a number of commissioned works for king Louis XVI and other great European courts. Typical products from Thomire's workshop included fashionable table decorations, lighting fittings and clocks. The best models were frequently reproduced.
Stanisław Kostka Potocki purchased the decorative table set for a number of reasons. At that time, French craft reached a pinnacle of good taste and perfection. The depredations caused by the French Revolution and the need for a suitably grand setting for the new imperial government led to a new period of flourishing in interior decoration and decorative crafts in general. Silver and ormolu became a particularly valued decorative material.
Highly decorative table sets known in French as surtout-de-table were all the rage in the 19th century. This kind of set could comprise tazze, jardinieres, baskets and candlesticks, which were sometimes set on joined mirror panes surrounded with a raised border (gallery).
Joanna Paprocka-Gajek
