A pair of gilt-bronze and blue-ground porcelain brûle-parfums, the mounts French or Russian, the porcelain French, early 19th century

Conceived as an antique tripod, these brûle-parfums combine the work of a French porcelain manufactory and finely-chased mounts of Russian or French craftsmanship in the 19th century.

The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw remarkable overlaps in French and Russian gilt-bronze design and craftsmanship, making the distinction between the two sometimes tricky. In parallel to the continuous demand for Parisian gilt-bronze mounted objects and furniture, various restrictions imposed by Emperor Paul I (1754-1801) and Alexander I (1777-1825) made the establishment of French workers in Russia difficult. Local Russian architects and craftsmen were thus led to combine their knowledge and expertise to create and develop their own designs extremely influenced by the French styles.

The Louis XV and Louis XVI styles had long influenced the world, a trend that continued with the rise of the Empire style in the early 19th century. French decorative motifs spread widely through prints, diplomatic gifts, and the experiences of travellers and craftsmen. A turning point in the evolution of furniture and the decorative arts came with the publication of Recueil de décorations intérieures (1801) by Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine. Drawing inspiration from Antiquity and the recent archaeological discoveries of Herculaneum and Pompeii, this work profoundly shaped the Empire style. Its ornamental vocabulary—tripod bases, paw feet, laurel wreaths, female busts above supports, and stylized acanthus leaves—was embraced by leading bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843) and became emblematic of the Empire and Restauration periods.

A hallmark of Thomire’s tripods and centrepieces for surtout de table was the decorative element of a laurel leaf pattern, seen interestingly on the present lot underneath each of the maidens. For comparison, see Thomire’s centrepiece now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (illustrated in Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Vol. I, Munich, 1986), one tripod sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 1st February 2013, lot 1 and another entirely in bronze sold at Christie's, London, 14th December 2000, lot 148. 

The work of Thomire was undoubtedly known, amongst others, by the famous architect Russian Andrei Voronikhin (1759-1814) who had travelled to Paris where he gained a first hand impression of what was being produced by the Parisians. Beyond his projects for interiors at Pavlovsk Palace, Voronikhin also executed designs for furniture and ornamental vases, and worked closely with artists and craftsmen such as the bronziers Pierre Agis (1752-1828) and Friedrich Bergenfeldt (1768-1822).  

The porcelain

The vases here mounted are modelled after vases referred to in the Sèvres Manufactory archives as ‘cassolette à monter’ which were produced by the factory in the mid-1780s in both round (‘Daguerre rond’) and oval (‘Daguerre ovale’) versions. Three drawings in the Sèvres Archives refer to vases of this general form. The first is a drawing dated 20 April 1784 incorporating a porcelain base and inscribed Vase Casollette pour Etre Monté par M. Tomier (sic Thomire). Of the two later drawings, that for the oval model, dated 1786, is inscribed Vase de Monsieur Daguerre oval donné à faire Dapres un Model En bois Le mois 9bre 1786, whilst that for a circular vase, dated 1787, is inscribed Vase Bassignoire 1e demandé par M.Salmon ... ce 10 aoust 1787...pour mettre En Bleu. As the circular version of this model of vase was also referred to as a vase Daguerre rond in 1787, the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre can be conclusively credited with both the design and evolution of this model.

This model enjoyed lasting popularity, not only in France but also with Russian and English aristocrats. Madame Adélaïde bought three vases in 1787, two at 408 livres each and one at 480 livres. Similarly, in September 1787 Madame du Barry purchased two vases beau bleu montés en bronze for 1,000 livres each. A further garniture was delivered in 1799 for the State Bedroom of Maria Feodorovna at Mikhailovsky Castle and a singular mounted example today at the Pavlovsk Palace (inv. no. 4770-IV, illustrated in Pavlovsk: The Collections, 1993, p.151, fig. 25). Further related examples are in the Wallace Collection, London, in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace and at Harewood House, Yorkshire. Many of these were undoubtedly supplied by Daguerre, including those for Mikhailovsky Castle.

The porcelain for the present, with slightly higher necks than the original Sèvres vases, were probably executed by a French porcelain manufactory inspired by the work of Sèvres.