Pierre HACHE - Pair of inlaid secret and security boxes stamped Hache

Pierre HACHE - Pair of inlaid secret and security boxes stamped Hache in Grenoble.
Rare pair of inlaid secret and security boxes in venative woods such as sycamore, natural maple burl, green-tinted ash and wire oli, enhanced with small-hand marquetry fillets forming reserves on all five sides and inside; all on a walnut frame. Rectangular in shape, with rounded quarter-round corners, they both open onto a lid centered by a faceted drop handle, which is attached from the inside; a technique typical of the Hache workshop, this avoided the presence of screw heads on the front in a concern for refined detail. The lid is hinged by two small hinges, aided by a hinged hook nestling in a recess on the left side of the lid; underneath the lid on the edge of the bowl. The interior is always entirely veneered in olive-wood inlaid with small hands. On the back of the lid is a compartment for important papers. These were held in place by a shelf locked by two hooks and centred by a mobile pull-ring, hinged by hinges; the whole always in polished metal. The longitudinal, lateral plate of the inner cavity can be unhinged, revealing two secrets: the primary one, by freeing a mobile shelf giving access to a double bottom. The secondary secret is concealed in the thickness of the frame, which is topped by a thin walnut plate running from one hinge to the other of the box lid, concealing its exit. Once this has been removed, a new cavity is revealed, into which a walnut banknote holder is inserted, secured by an integrated pull tab on the side. The front opens to reveal a hexagonal molded metal keyhole, identical to the one on the box in London's V&A Museum. Large screws running through the height of each of the cases, on the sides, enabled them to be fixed to a piece of furniture or in a carriage; alas, one of them has none. The raison d'être of this security system, which is surprising to say the least, on inlaid boxes, in addition to the complication locks unlocked in two stages by inverted “S” keys with triangular barrels, attests to its function as a means of transporting precious documents, and could be fixed to a support provided in the coach or diligence that carried them to their recipient. The latter held a duplicate set of keys, necessary to open the lid and remove the screws that fastened them to the carriage. Pierre Hache's stamp, “Hache à Grenoble”, is stamped on the edge of the front on either side of the lock plate.
Dimensions: width 33cm - depth 22.5cm - height 16.5cm.