Louis XIV period Dauphiné chest of drawers with heart marquetry, circa 1710-1715
A beautiful and rare chest of drawers circa 1710-1715, in marquetry of plum, walnut, olive, rosewood, plum, and walnut threads. The tray presents a composition of reserves in geometrical forms, stars, circles, squares, and hearts connected by nets that underline the borders. The edge of the tray is made of plum wood. The sides offer a classic bipartite composition with a diamond of ash veneer and wide strips of pear wood. The slightly curved front opens to four drawers whose slightly severe filleting is mitigated by the superb spectacle of the walnut, plum, and rosewood veneers. The verticality of the rounded uprights is accentuated by the wood veneer and by dark fillets on one side and in the middle of each upright. These fillets run uninterrupted from the top to the foot, a constant in the Hache family. The handles and lock entrances in chiseled gilded bronze were used by the Hache family at the beginning of the 18th century and can be found on many of their chests of drawers.
This beautiful chest of drawers from the Dauphiné region, dating from the Louis XIV period, is to be compared with the commode presented in Le Génie des Hache by Pierre and Françoise Rouge, page 219, number 84, published by Faton.
Measurements: H 34.64 In. - W 46.85 In. - D 24.80 In.
Thomas HACHE: 28 November 1664 - 13 May 1747.
His father, Noël Hache, born in Calais around 1630, was doing his tour of France as a journeyman cabinetmaker when he moved to Toulouse, where he settled and died in 1675.
In his turn Thomas, born in Toulouse, began his journey through France, stopping in Grenoble, working for the cabinetmaker Michel Chevallier, and marrying the latter's daughter in 1699.
Following the death of his father-in-law in 1720, he took over his workshop on the Place Claveyson. One year later, he obtained the patent of guard and cabinetmaker of the house of Louis d'Orleans, Duke of Chartres, and governor of Dauphiné. With the help of his only son, Pierre, who succeeded him, he showed great activity, but for lack of a stamp, none of his works can be identified.
Bibliography: :
« Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIème Siècle », Pierre Kjellberg, Les Éditions de l’Amateur – 2002
« Le Génie des Hache », Pierre Rouge et Françoise Rouge, Éditions Faton.
