EXCEPTIONAL "AUX FANTASSINS" CABINET BY THOMAS... Lot 13

EXCEPTIONAL "AUX FANTASSINS" CABINET BY THOMAS HACHE Very richly inlaid, on the front and sides, with flowers au naturel and tinted, garlands, vases, foliate scrolls, lambrequins, birds in medallions, hunters sounding their horns, infantrymen with "marteau d'arme" on their shoulders - green-tinted bone handles and pewter blades - under round arches, dogs, covered pots, pedestals, draperies, ribbons, dolphins, arrowhead friezes, acanthus leaf friezes, in reserves with original shapes, on a stained wood background, and a walnut burl counter-ground, it opens with two large doors and stands on four blackened wood ball feet. The capital is enriched by a frieze of engraved festoons overhanging a frieze of small alternating light and dark wood squares, the frieze on the cornice rail richly inlaid with a large flower basket supported by two figures on the front, foliage scrolls and flowers in cartouches on the sides, all underlined by a frieze of arrowheads echoing those on the frame, doors and sides. Original iron key. H_206 cm W_153 cm D_64.5 cm Thomas HACHE (Toulouse 1664 - Grenoble 1747), Chambéry or Grenoble, circa 1695-1700 Maintenance restorations (original backgrounds except for one side board). Good condition (some splitting, lifting, cracking, missing and pitting). Brass inner case, hinges and lock escutcheons. Bibliography: published and described in "Le génie des Hache", Pierre et Françoise Rouge, Faton 2005, pp. 86- 87. ARMOIRE D'APPARAT À LA GLOIRE DE l'ART MILITAIRE ET DE LA VÉNERIE POUR UN COMMANDITAIRE GRENOBLOIS In the center of the doors, under a barrel vault, stand curious figures who seem to be saluting with their raised arms, and carry a kind of axe on their shoulders. They are wearing helmets or capes with "crayfish tails", i.e. hinged blades protecting the nape of the neck. used until the end of the 17th century in Central Europe and Germany. Although wearing civilian costume, with this puffed-up garment, these are undoubtedly infantrymen who carry a "weapon hammer as indicated by the triangular shape of the blade (1). The handle is not made of scagliola, but of green-tinted bone, while the blade is made of pewter. The traditional Renommées are represented here by pickaxes blowing their horns and standing on foliage from which from which dogs emanate. The picker is in charge of the pack's upkeep, driving it away with the support of voice and horn. The commissioner was undoubtedly from Grenoble, as indicated by the dolphins in the lower medallions of the doors. the lower medallions of the doors, and wanted to honor his military career and his taste for hunting. the friezes of pennes evoking arrows, in this ceremonial cabinet, the only one of its kind in Thomas Hache's body of work. Hache, and one of his most richly inlaid models, both on the front and sides. Thomas Hache remains the only cabinetmaker to have created, as early as 1685, a coherent, high-quality ensemble in a style style, making him one of the most talented cabinet-makers of his time, recognized as such recognized as such by his aristocratic and even royal clientele², first in the Duchy of Savoy and then in Grenoble, where he received the title title of cabinetmaker and guard to the Duc d'Orléans, prince of the blood and governor of Dauphiné in 1721. 1 This information was kindly provided by Pierre Richard Royer, arms expert. 2 Several pieces of furniture and armorial objects, including a large chest bearing the coat of arms of the Duc de Noailles and the niece of Madame de Maintenon, Louis XIV's last wife, will be published in Volume 2 of the book Le génie des Hache, P. et F. Rouge, Faton 2005, forthcoming from Éditions Faton. Expert: Françoise ROUGE, expert at the Paris Court of Appeal. Tel : 06 03 93 23 76 A DEPOSIT of €20,000 must be paid BEFORE the sale in order to be able to bid on this lot.