Louis XV Commode by Pierre Hache (1705 – 1776)

Beautiful walnut "sauteuse" chest of drawers, opening with two rows of drawers and featuring a generous crossbow movement.
Finely carved on the uprights with lambrequin offcuts, it rests on arched doe-hoof legs topped with acanthus leaves.
The side and front crosspieces are accented with a ribbon cord and carved with acanthus leaves, shells, and a large, asymmetrical, deeply carved shell on the front apron.
Beautiful ornamentation of chased and gilded bronzes. Note the lock escutcheons featuring lions resting on a mascaron and bearing a crowned double-headed eagle. The drop handles feature the motifs of crowned rampant lions and mascarons. An exactly similar bronze fitting is affixed to a sideboard, illustrated on pages 5 and 34 of the book "Hache Cabinetmakers in Grenoble" published by Glénat.
In addition to its characteristic decorations, our chest of drawers, although not stamped, possesses the technical manufacturing qualities specific to Pierre Hache, a cabinetmaker from Grenoble in the early 18th century:
At the drawer level, the crosspieces are keyed, using the technique invented by Pierre Hache for natural wood furniture.
The back is nailed horizontally into the rebates of the rear uprights.
Since the edge of the top is quite thick, the bec de corbin was given the characteristic thinning in the workshop to give it a pleasing visual thickness.
A model similar to ours is presented on page 275 of the book by Pierre and Françoise Rouge, "Le Génie des Hache" published by Faton.

Dimensions
L. 136 cm x H. 86 cm x D. 71 cm

France – Grenoble
Beautifully patinated walnut
Pierre Hache (December 28, 1705 – June 3, 1776)

Pierre Hache worked from 1725 in his father Thomas's workshop, on Place Claveyson in Grenoble.
In 1757, like his father, he received the brevet of Guard and Cabinetmaker from the Duke of Orléans.
He left behind large commodes in Alpine wood marquetry, carefully crafted but generally treated in a rather heavy style, still readily inspired by the Louis XIV and Régence styles.
Lighter and very typical, commodes resting on arched crowbar legs seem to prefigure the Louis XV-Louis XVI Transition models. His fame surpassed that of his father, Thomas, whom he succeeded, but it would be surpassed by that of his son Jean-François Hache, who would take over from him.
Ref : 18th Century French Furniture - Pierre Kjellberg