THOMIRE, PIERRE-PHILIPPE (1751-1843) A Pair of Vase Candelabras Gilt bronze, cast, height 71 cm. Vase candelabras with two half-figures of winged cupids playing reed-pipes, with flower garlands around the central body of the vases. The feet of the vases stand on a square base with mascarons of Dionysus and a cupid on a dolphin. The tops of the vases are executed in the form of a five-light candelabra. Vases of this type form part of a ceremonial decorative table setting. The distinguishing features of such surtout-de-tables, made in the first quarter of the XIX century in the workshop of Pierre- Philippe Thomire, are both their size and the elegant clarity and soft moulding of the overall design. Such objects were usually based on one theme of bacchanalia, the feast of the gods or the seasons. A set of objects or suite for a large table setting usually consisted of a round or oval mirror plateau with an openwork gilt-bronze side, vases, candelabras, two-tier or three-tier crystal plate stands and a central table decoration. Mirrored plateaux with decorative table settings by Thomire were very much in demand at the Russian Imperial Court. Several examples, specially procured from various individuals, were held in the Hofmarshall section of the Winter Palace, in suburban residences and in the palaces of the Grand Dukes. Vase candelabras similar to those presented here, but with slightly different ornamentation, are held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum (inv. ? MT-173) and in a private collection in Eltwille, Germany (published: H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel. Die Bronzearbeiten des Spaetbarock und Klassizismus. Muenchen, 1986. Band I, p. 308). We are grateful to Mrs. A. G. Geyko, the Custodian of Decorative Bronzes at the State Hermitage Museum, for providing additional catalogue information.