Important Bust of Pierre Casimir Perier Sculpted by Dominique Maggesi - Empire Plaster

Very important plaster bust of Pierre Casimir Perier after Dominique Maggesi.
In good condition, very decorative and imposing.
Dimensions: H 78 x W 69 x D 49 cm

Casimir (Pierre) Perier was born on December 8, 1777, in Le-Pont-de-Beauvoisin (Isère).
He was the fifth child of Claude Perier (1742-1801), a squire, wealthy banker, and industrialist from the Dauphiné region, who contributed his own money to the preparation of the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire. He was also one of the founders of the Banque de France in 1801.
With his brothers, he studied with the Oratorians in Lyon, then in Paris. Stendhal described him thus:
"Casimir Périer was perhaps the most handsome young man in Paris at the time: he was dark, wild, his beautiful eyes revealed madness."
Conscripted, he joined the Army of Italy in 1798. He became an assistant to the engineering staff and distinguished himself at San Giuliano, near Mantua.
Having lost his father in 1801, Casimir Périer found himself at the head of a vast fortune. He left the army and, with the help of his brother Scipion, founded a major banking house in Paris. It also dealt in maritime armaments, public and private debts, timber trading, manufacturing, and more. It was notably one of the major shareholders of the Anzin Mining Company. On October 13, 1805, at the Château de Vizille, owned by the Perier family near Grenoble, he married a wealthy heiress, Marie Cécile Laurence (known as Pauline) Loyer (1788-1861), daughter of Laurent Ponthus Loyer, a magistrate who died by guillotine in 1793, and Joséphine Savoye des Grangettes, and granddaughter of the architect Toussaint-Noël Loyer.
They had two sons: Auguste Casimir-Perier (1811-1876), who would become Minister of the Interior in the government of Adolphe Thiers (1871-1873), and Paul Casimir-Perier (1812-1897).
His business ventures prospered, and he became a judge at the Commercial Court and later regent of the Bank of France. In 1817, he published two financial pamphlets opposing a government loan of 300 million francs abroad on very onerous terms. They attracted considerable attention. In the general elections of September 20 of the same year, he was elected deputy for the Seine department.
In politics, he supported the Charter and the Bourbons. His ideas did not extend beyond the most moderate "constitutionalism." However, on several issues, he found himself in opposition to the ministers and the right wing of the Chamber. Re-elected deputy on May 9, 1822, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, he leaned more to the left. After obtaining the renewal of his mandate once again on November 17, 1824, he waged a bitter war against the Villèle ministry.
On November 17, 1827, he was re-elected deputy for the Aube department and rallied to the Martignac ministry. He was even seen appearing in the King's game at the Tuileries Palace. He was considered for the presidency of the Chamber and for the Ministry of Finance. Thus, during the sessions of 1828 and 1829, he maintained almost complete silence. He did not return to the rostrum until after the Polignac ministry came to power (August 1829). His opposition revived his popularity, and he naturally signed the address of the 221.
Re-elected in Troyes on July 12, 1830, he did everything he could to stop the movement as the insurrection approached and in meetings of deputies and politicians. During the Three Glorious Days, he strove to display absolute neutrality. The victory of the insurrection brought him to power despite himself. He only definitively rallied to the Duke of Orléans when the fall of the elder branch seemed complete to him. Elected President of the Chamber of Deputies on August 6, he left the Vice-President, Jacques Laffitte, to exercise this function in his place. A few days later, on August 11, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the first ministry of the reign of Louis-Philippe I. He was re-elected Deputy for Troyes on October 21.
After Lafitte's resignation, Casimir Perier was called upon, on March 13, 1831, to form a ministry in which he became President of the Council and Minister of the Interior. His policy aimed, internally, to restore order through energetic measures and, if necessary, by force. Externally, it aimed to ensure peace with foreign powers.
Casimir Perier had long pondered what the Presidency of the Council should entail. He theorized a quasi-parliamentary regime, in which the cabinet is strong and "the king reigns but does not govern," according to the famous maxim of Adolphe Thiers. To impose himself on the chamber, he gave an inaugural speech in which he outlined his government program. This is summed up in a famous phrase that defines the ideal of the "golden mean":
"Within, order without sacrifice for liberty; without, peace without costing honor."
Tall, with a burning gaze, an energetic gesture, cold, and a love of command, Casimir P

Ref: 7PHOCN2E9U