Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Beautiful Secrétaire in blond walnut cabinet.
The uprights of rounded forms rest on cambered feet finished by "pastilles", while the back feet have a simple cut.
The front side opens with a flap decorated with gilded leather and serving as a writing desk.
It reveals a theater with four rows organized in six compartments and six drawers of different sizes.
The lower part opens with two leaves that allow access to six additional compartments.
The visible parts of the theater and the lockers are made of reddened fir, to create a contrast with the blond walnut of the drawers and the front.
The door and panel moldings are stained black.
One drawer of the theater is stamped on the edge " Hache Fils à Grenoble ", mark used by the cabinetmaker Jean François Hache (1730-1796).
Nice condition, original back made of fir boards nailed horizontally.
Blackberry marble top, (probably cut or brought back *).
Work of Jean François Hache, Grenoble end of the Louis XV period around 1775.
Dimensions :
Height : 123 cm ; Width : 100,5 cm, Depth : 44 cm.
For a similar secretary see : " La Dynastie des Hache" by René Fonvielle page 84.
*The presence of a bowl floor on the upper part of the desk confirms that our desk came out of the Grenoble workshops with a marble top.
Generally, the marble used by the Hache family was left rough on the inside, which was then embedded in the bowl.
This process was misunderstood in the 19th century and many of these very thick marbles, considered unfinished, were polished or replaced in the 19th century.
Our opinion :
The secretary that we present is characteristic of the productions of Jean François Hache.
Like most of the furniture that came out of his workshops, our piece is very utilitarian, with lots of storage space, while remaining affordable.
In accordance with his doctrine he sublimates a very blond wood by using blackened fillet frames, he imitates the luxurious Parisian mahogany theaters by staining the fir wood red, and he lightens the rectangular forms of the furniture with rounded uprights placed on small arched feet.
The ingenuity of Jean François Hache, who is both a cabinetmaker and an important businessman, will allow him to obtain an undeniable success for almost half a century, with timeless furniture.
Let us add that our secretary which is presented in perfect state of conservation is a rarity because of the presence of the stamp which replaces the usual label that one finds on this type of furniture.
