Surtout de table by Pierre-Philippe Thomire at the Wilanów Palace

Abstract

The paper concerns the Empire centrepiece at the Wilanów palace, manufactured by Pierre-Phillipe Thomire. It is assumed that it was bought by count Stanisław Kostka Potocki in Paris in 1808.
There is no monograph about Pierre-Phillipe Thomire’s production of Empire tableware. This study concentrates on the Wilanów centrepiece, aiming to verify the previous knowledge on the subject and to establish what items constituted this surtout de table, what was its function and place in the Wilanów Palace. The significance of the Wilanów centrepiece was also explored in juxtaposition to the production of the Thomire, Duterme et Cie and other tableware of the period. The items forming the surtout de table were formally, stylistically and ichnographically analysed, taking the rules of the Empire style into consideration. The X-ray fluorescence spectrometry examination of the set proved it was made of brass rather than bronze.
The production of Pierre-Phillipe Thomire, a brazier as well as bronzesmith, was also presented in the article. The Wilanów centrepiece was compared with contemporary objects as well as other products of the Thomire, Duterme et Cie. Using the French, German, English and Russian scientific literature to confront the Wilanów surtout de table with the artistic achievements of the period, it was possible to evaluate its quality. Moreover, the presence of Thomire’s other products in Polish collections was established.
Analysis of count Stanisław Kostka Potocki’s public activity and interests allowed to explore his motivation for buying the products of Thomire’s workshop. The sources concerned with the acquiring of the centrepiece by the count and with its placement in the Wilanów palace provided new information about other possible sets of tableware which consisted of objects now erroneously thought as being a part of just one surtout de table.