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57 - Set of five chased bronze plaques depicting Roman breastplat…
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Estimate €800 - €1,200
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Description
Set of five chased bronze plaques depicting Roman breastplates, helmets and military trophies After the Trajan column in Rome, entourage of Wilhelm Hopfgarten (1779-1860) and Benjamin Ludwig Jollage (1781-1837) and Pierre-Philippe Thomire, early 19th century Dimensions: 20 x 14.5 cm and the largest 23 x 20 cm In Rome, the Trajan Column, erected in 113 by Emperor Trajan to celebrate his victories over the Dacians, has never ceased to captivate the gaze of architects and artists. A monument of memory as much as a masterpiece of sculpted narrative, it has become, over the centuries, an object of study and admiration. Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), around 1774-1775, produced an illustration of the Trajan column in Rome, depicting the Roman emperor Trajan, bas-reliefs and the historical wars against the Dacians (preserved in the Stefan Szyller collection (fig. 1)). Charles Percier sketched out a restoration project for it in 1789; Henri Labrouste, a resident at the Villa Médicis, made a meticulous survey of it in 1826; André Marie Chatillon devoted a further study to it in 1913. But its influence extended far beyond the circle of scholars. It went to the very heart of the French monumental imagination, inspiring the Vendôme column (1805-1810), which Napoleon I had erected to glorify the victories of his armies. So, from Rome to Paris, stone becomes memory, and the ancient model finds new life in the modern celebration. The Musée du Louvre holds a cast of part of the base of the column (Gy 0252) (Le Breton, Elisabeth, "Les moulages anciens dans la gypsothèque du musée du Louvre", Dossier de l'art, 201, 2012, p. 76-81, p. 77, no. 1). The artist who made our plates was certainly inspired by Piranesi's illustration. We know of a bronze reduction of the Trajan column by Wilhelm Hopfgarten and Benjamin Ludwig Jollage, Rome, circa 1810, (H 85.5) illustrated in Hans Ottomeeyer and Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen (ill. 1.19.8, p. 404.). A pair of torchères attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire with identical plaques on each side of the bases was sold by Maître Fraysse et Associés on 11 May 2022. Expert : Isabelle d'Amécourt
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About the sale Furniture and Works of Art - PAS EN LIVE
Auction location
Auction time 06/05/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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