Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Beautiful games table in black lacquered walnut, ebony, boxwood and ivory.
Rectangular in shape, it rests on four arched legs; the removable tray with a bowl is set by four screwed edges.
It is covered with Havana leather on one side and green felt on the other side.
The interior reveals a tric-trac game in ebony, ivory and boxwood veneer and a token compartment with a sliding slide in both directions.
Very good condition.
Stamped "HACHE FILS A GRENOBLE" on the edge of the side crosspiece.
Work of Jean François Hache*, Grenoble, Louis XV period circa 1765-1770.
Dimensions:
Width: 78.5 cm; Depth: 55 cm; Height: 69.5 cm
A very similar tric-trac is published on page 446 of Pierre Rouge's book "Le génie des Hache" published by Faton.
Our opinion:
The strong contrast, the robustness of the construction and the practical side of the tric-trac that we present are characteristic of the work of Jean François Hache.
The latter was one of the great specialists in the production of "tables of all kinds" as he himself indicates on these first labels in the 1760s.
As a good entrepreneur, our cabinetmaker will prefer to affix his iron rather than his traditional label that he could have hidden in the token compartment.
It is quite amusing to note that like the two other tric-trac published in Pierre Rouge's book, our table does not have a label but has this same stamp very visible on the edge.
Placed very judiciously, this advertising mark is visible to all players, which is important because not only is the game the prerogative of the nobility in the 18th century but it is also a strong social bond.
Jean François Hache therefore intended to take advantage of these game evenings to encourage guests and other passing guests to come and visit his workshop.
His business sense will be largely rewarded since he will export a good part of his production to the four corners of France.
We can think that many tables of this type were produced by the Grenoble workshop but only a handful have reached us, perhaps because of the nature of the game of tric-trac which became completely obsolete in the 19th century.
Our table which is presented in perfect condition is a beautiful example of this production.
Jean-François Hache, known as the elder (January 10, 1730 - August 19, 1796), son of Thomas Hache, is the most famous of the dynasty.
He spent four months in Paris. He may have been in contact with Jean-François Oeben, Louis XV's cabinetmaker, or at least he was able to study the master's production. Back in Grenoble, he gradually took over from his father and set up his own business in 1754, using the more slender forms of the Louis XV style. The legs lengthened into supple curves ending in sabots. He simplified his father's mannerism and established himself with robust and ingenious furniture. He quickly achieved great fame and for more than thirty years, he operated numerous workshops and stores in Grenoble and supplied furniture for most of the sumptuous Dauphiné residences, notably for Duke Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, who was then governor of Dauphiné.
