Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
Rare and important mirror in marquetry of native woods (root, boxwood, green tinted sycamore). Model with reversed double-profile and unhooked corners, decorated with scrolls of flowers in the four spandrels and acanthus scrolls on the side reserves.
The mouldings that delimit the recesses are made of black tinted wood. The central mirror is bordered by a frieze of acanthus leaves.
Frame in resinous wood.
Mercury glass.
Good condition, small restorations and inlays.
Work attributable to Pierre Hache, in the workshop of his father Thomas, Grenoble, early 18th century.
Dimensions :
Mirror ; Height : 96 cm ; Width : 85 cm
Glass ; Height : 50 cm ; Width : 40 cm
-A similar mirror (former Michel Descours collection) is published on page 30 of Pierre Rouge's book, Le Génie des Hache, published by Faton.
Our view :
The exceptional mirror we are presenting has a very dense and gnarled veneer, probably from the stump of a tree. Because of its unusual character, we have not been able to identify this species with certainty.
The purpose is certainly to imitate the texture of the expensive tortoise shell, which is then fashionable in Paris and found on many mirrors of this period.
This technique of imitating and enhancing native burls is one of the leitmotifs of the Hache family's workshop.
The chopsticks, which are made of stained wood instead of ebony, the two-tone marquetry, the delicacy of the flowers in their natural state and the construction on a frame of resinous wood are also characteristic of the famous workshop in Grenoble.
If Pierre Rouge evokes the track of Noël Hache for the mirror published in the book, we see rather the hand of Thomas and perhaps even the first steps of Pierre in the paternal workshop.
Indeed, if the acanthus friezes still have a Dutch inspiration, the density of the scrolls and the flowers present in the reserves, and their delicate green tints correspond perfectly to the beginning of the marquetries of Italian inspiration, which are in our eyes the summit of the production of Hache.
The very architectural form may seem archaic but corresponds perfectly to the Italian fashion of the time.
Let us remember that our cabinetmakers work extensively for a rich clientele located in the Duchy of Savoy which borders the city of Grenoble.
It was in the heart of an old family from Turin, the former capital of the duchy, that we discovered this mirror.
For years, we thought that the published mirror was unique and represented one of the most beautiful models made by the Hache family. The discovery of a similar mirror, which is not a pair (larger dimensions of our model), is for us an exceptional discovery.
