Thomire, Pierre-Philippe (French, 1751-1843)

Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843) was a French sculptor, who became the most prominent producer of ornamental patinated and gilt-bronze objects and furniture mounts in the First French Empire period.

Thomire received his training in the workshop of Pierre Gouthière, the outstanding Parisian ciseleur-doreur who worked in the Louis XVI style. In 1776, Tomire established his own shop and gradually assumed the leading position in the world of bronzework, crafting fashionable Neoclassical and Empire style bronzes. In 1783–84 Thomire received his first notable commission, casting and finishing the gilt-bronze handles modelled by Boizot for a pair of Sèvres porcelain vases, which are today divided between the Musée du Louvre in Paris and the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.

When Thomire exhibited his wares in the 1806 Parisian Exposition Publique des Produits de l'Industrie, it was the first time that a bronzier was permitted among the exhibiters. Thomire’s works were met with critical acclaim and he won a Gold Medal for his achievements. Thomire’s most prestigious commission, however, was for the King of Rome, for whom he the crafted a cradle.

At the height of his business, it is estimated that Thomire employed six or seven hundred workers. Thomire retired from his firm in 1823.