Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Small game table in solid walnut wood finely carved.
The table rests on four strongly arched legs finished by deer hooves.
The upper parts display shells in concave reserves constituted by "C" stapled together by small carnations while the central parts present a flower in a medallion framed by falls of lily of the valley.
The front crosspiece is heavily scalloped and carved with a shell on a lattice background in a reserve delimited by two acanthus scrolls ending with decreasing lily of the valley flowers.
The sides are also curved and decorated with an acanthus deployed in the central part.
Thick marble of carrara "arabescato" of origin.
Thick marble of carrara "arabescato" of origin.
Nice state of conservation, some small restorations of use.
Grenoble work of the Louis XV period around 1730, attributable to Pierre Hache in Grenoble.
Dimensions :
Height : 83 cm ; Width : 125 cm ; Depth : 70 cm.
Award criteria to Pierre Gole :
-The stylistic process with the upper parts of the jambs slightly concave on a very thin foot to accentuate the effect of curvature and the upper parts of the belts that are raised by a slight molding and form "flowerbeds".
-The decoration with shells on a lattice background, the "C's" joined back to back by small carnations, the acanthus leaf in the middle of the side rails, the decreasing lily of the valley flowers and the flower motif in a medallion that is almost a signature in itself.
The whole of these elements are found on several known tables in particular a table present at the castle of Longpra (published page 54 of the book of Thierry Bazin « Quand les Hache meublaient Longpra ») ; a table published under N° 202 page 390 of the book of Pierre Rouge « Le génie des Hache », with the editions Faton, and finally on a table present in the old collection of the antiquarian New Yorker Mary Helen Mc Coy.
-The technical process with a very thick marble, whose reverse side is left rough in the central part and only smoothed on the edges.
Imported from Italy, we find this variety of marble on other pieces of furniture made by the famous dynasty of cabinetmakers who were established in Grenoble, (a city that adjoins the former Duchy of Savoy) which allowed exchanges with Italy.
The Haches were copied extensively, and inspired many workshops in Provence and the Dauphiné, which makes attribution often complicated.
The stylistic process and the decoration of our table are supported by technical details and a luxury imported marble, which makes the attribution certain, and allows us to classify this work in the production of Pierre Hache in Grenoble at the beginning of the reign of Louis XV, in the years 1730-1740, a period where new and lighter forms will be combined with a symmetrical decoration still very regency.
Pierre Hache (1705-1776) born in 1705, he is the only son of Thomas, a great cabinetmaker who works for the Duke of Orleans and the Duchy of Savoy.
He married Marguerite Blanc ; Twelve births followed one another from 1726 to 1748. The orders flowed in and the workshop could easily support the large family. In addition to prestigious furniture, the workshop also produced carpentry works (carriage doors, wood carvings, etc.). The quality progresses in the same way in the search for harmony between the form and the motif, which requires a great precision of execution. At the end of this period, we see Thomas, his son Pierre and his grandson Jean-François working in the same workshop.
Thomas died on May 13, 1747. The same year, Pierre acquired a country property in Brié-et-Angonnes, a testimony to the prosperity of the dynasty. From that time on he used stamps to identify the furniture created by the workshop.
Closely associated with his son Jean-François, he hires several journeymen, but organizes the workshop to preserve the manufacturing secrets, especially for the stains of green wood or red walnut. The journeymen were obliged to do the carpentry tasks; the veneering, marquetry and inlays were reserved for the master or his son.
Until 1760, it is Pierre's hand that influences a production in the Regency style, even Louis XIV decorated with Italian motifs.
