A RARE AND IMPORTANT LOUIS XIV SCAGLIOLA-INLAID, PART-EBONIZED BURR WALNUT AND FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY ARMOIRE, BY THOMAS HACHE circa 1695

Camille Burgi, Paris

Pierre Rouge and Françoise Rouge, Le genie des Hache, Dijon, 2005, illustrated, pp. 92-93

With scattered age and construction cracks, dents and abrasions. Veneer with age and construction cracks, very small patches and infill. Largest age crack to upper right corner of left door where veneer and marquetry with some lifting in a small area. Marquetry with age and construction cracks, scattered resotration and minor old losses. Ebonized areas redecorated and with restored cracks. Refinished. Interior refitted and lined with silk. Scagliola with age cracks, minor losses and some infill; not extensive. Some minor old worm damage to right door. Feet replaced. Mounts with some rubbing and minor oxidation and surface dirt. In good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present lot belongs to a group of armoires by Thomas Hache that incorporate the figure of trumpeting Mercury in its elaborate marquetry decoration. Within this group, this lot belongs to a much smaller subgroup of armoires fitted with a long and narrow drawer in the lower section. Besides the present example, only one such armoire by Hache is known; see Pierre Rouge and Françoise Rouge, Le genie des Hache, Dijon, 2005, pp. 78-79. The figures of Mercury on this piece are supplemented by roosters in the upper cartouches that could be viewed as the allegories of France or, more likely, the attributes of Mercury as the chariot of the messenger of the gods was believed to be drawn by these birds. The interlaced Rs surmounted by a wreath underneath the flowering vases, which show the strong influence of Pierre Gole's oeuvre on Hache's activity, present the hypothesis that this piece could have been an "armoire de mariage."

THOMAS HACHE (1664-1747)

Thomas was the paterfamilias of the Hache cabinet-making dynasty. He arrived in Grenoble around 1695 and in 1699 he married the daughter of Michel Chevallier, a Grenoblois cabinet-maker whose workshop had been established in the last decade of the 17th century. Thomas was not only a talented ébéniste, but also an astute administrator and businessman who instituted an efficient practice of division of labor which he had probably observed in Parisian workshops. He entrusted the most elaborate of his marquetry panels to his most talented craftsmen, and he had these panels made in advance; in this manner they could be presented to clients who would then select their preference based upon design and price. The undoubted quality of his production, together with the efficient manner in which it was manufactured, made for a very successful enterprise which Thomas was able to pass on to his sons Pierre and Jean-François.