拍品专文
Pierre-Philippe Thomire, maître in 1772
Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), eldest brother of Napoléon I, was crowned both as King of Naples in 1806 and of Spain in 1808. Renouncing the Spanish throne to become Lieutenant-General of the Emperor in 1814, Joseph was forced into exile in America following the demise of the Empire. On his arrival in New York, he assumed the title of the comte de Survilliers and proceeded to acquire estates in both Borderstown, New Jersey, and Jefferson County, New York State, following a special dispensation by the Governor of New Jersey in 1817 to allow a non-American citizen to own property. On the Borderstown estate, he razed the fire-damaged colonial house to the ground in 1822, replacing it with a mansion of commensurate scale, known as 'Point Breeze' and renamed Bonaparte Park. The house was furnished in lavish style and included two Italian marble mantelpieces commissioned for Joseph by his uncle, Cardinal Fesch. Indeed, between 1820-35 numerous shipments of objets d'art from Europe are recorded and these reputedly included some of his brother Napoléon's Imperial Jewels.
Joseph returned to Europe in 1839, but in 1840 he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered and he died in Florence in 1844. The Borderstown Estate was inherited by his grandson, Joseph Lucien Charles Napoléon, who finally sold it in 1847 and disposed of much of the contents.
Two identical Nike-supported centrepieces by Thomire are recorded; what is interesting is that they likewise have a direct provenance connected with the Bonaparte family. One was possibly given as a wedding present by Napoléon and Josephine to her niece, Stephanie de Beauharnais on her marriage to Charles, Grand Duke of Baden (anonymous sale, Sotheby's London, 13 December 1991, lot 290), while the other, now in the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, was originally from the collection of the comtes de Pourtalès (H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. II, p. 383, fig. 5.16.1).
Two further variants are recorded: a centrepiece incorporating a clock is discussed in F.D., 'Thomire, Le Talleyrand du bronze doré', Connaissance des Arts, 15 April 1956, no. 50, p. 79, while an incomplete centrepiece candelabra, reputedly given by Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies (1747-1828) to his second wife the Duchesse de Floridia (1770-1826) was offered at Etude Couturier Nicolay, Paris, 31 March 1995, lot 155.
Closely related Nike figures, holding wreaths, appear in Berthault's 1801 design for the Boudoir de la princesse de Courlande (illustrated in 'Un ameublement à la mode en 1802 Le Mobilier du General Moreau', Exhibition Catalogue, Fontainebleau, 16 June - 14 September 1992, p. 25).
Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), eldest brother of Napoléon I, was crowned both as King of Naples in 1806 and of Spain in 1808. Renouncing the Spanish throne to become Lieutenant-General of the Emperor in 1814, Joseph was forced into exile in America following the demise of the Empire. On his arrival in New York, he assumed the title of the comte de Survilliers and proceeded to acquire estates in both Borderstown, New Jersey, and Jefferson County, New York State, following a special dispensation by the Governor of New Jersey in 1817 to allow a non-American citizen to own property. On the Borderstown estate, he razed the fire-damaged colonial house to the ground in 1822, replacing it with a mansion of commensurate scale, known as 'Point Breeze' and renamed Bonaparte Park. The house was furnished in lavish style and included two Italian marble mantelpieces commissioned for Joseph by his uncle, Cardinal Fesch. Indeed, between 1820-35 numerous shipments of objets d'art from Europe are recorded and these reputedly included some of his brother Napoléon's Imperial Jewels.
Joseph returned to Europe in 1839, but in 1840 he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered and he died in Florence in 1844. The Borderstown Estate was inherited by his grandson, Joseph Lucien Charles Napoléon, who finally sold it in 1847 and disposed of much of the contents.
Two identical Nike-supported centrepieces by Thomire are recorded; what is interesting is that they likewise have a direct provenance connected with the Bonaparte family. One was possibly given as a wedding present by Napoléon and Josephine to her niece, Stephanie de Beauharnais on her marriage to Charles, Grand Duke of Baden (anonymous sale, Sotheby's London, 13 December 1991, lot 290), while the other, now in the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, was originally from the collection of the comtes de Pourtalès (H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. II, p. 383, fig. 5.16.1).
Two further variants are recorded: a centrepiece incorporating a clock is discussed in F.D., 'Thomire, Le Talleyrand du bronze doré', Connaissance des Arts, 15 April 1956, no. 50, p. 79, while an incomplete centrepiece candelabra, reputedly given by Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies (1747-1828) to his second wife the Duchesse de Floridia (1770-1826) was offered at Etude Couturier Nicolay, Paris, 31 March 1995, lot 155.
Closely related Nike figures, holding wreaths, appear in Berthault's 1801 design for the Boudoir de la princesse de Courlande (illustrated in 'Un ameublement à la mode en 1802 Le Mobilier du General Moreau', Exhibition Catalogue, Fontainebleau, 16 June - 14 September 1992, p. 25).