Fireplace Plate From The First Empire Period With The Coat Of Arms Of Wendel And Hausen (74x74 Cm)

Fireplace plate from the First Empire period, cast at the Hayange forges in Moselle, whose original wooden print was studied around 1977 at the de Wendel castle in Hayange. For this plate we will simply publish the two writings known to date by Michel Rezette and RC Jacques at the 75th Congress of Learned Societies at the Faculty of Letters, in part. Michel Rezette: Curious plate, very busy, with in the center a coat of arms of composition furnished with a hammer from the arms of the de Wendel family (gules with three gold hammers accompanied at the base by a gold cannon barrel) and an anchor from the arms of the d'Hausen family (azure with a silver anchor with two stars of the same), the two symbols placed in saltire with, at the base, cannonballs, one of the main products of the steel industry of the time. Coat of arms under the protection of the imperial eagle and supported by two cherubs holding a palm. Charles de Wendel (1708-1784), owner, among other things, of the forges and blast furnaces of Hayange, married Anne-Marguerite d'Hausen (1718-1802) on May 10, 1739. On the death of her husband, she ran the estate masterfully until the revolutionaries sequestered his assets in 1793 and sold them as national property. These were returned by repurchase to the heirs in 1803. This plaque is probably dedicated to the rebirth of the house of Wendel. RC Jacques, The renaissance of the house of Wendel: By studying the models of Hayange, we found the one that was used to cast a plaque published by Mr. Hirsch... The shield is furnished with Wendel's hammer and Hansen's anchor symbolizing with the cannonballs the production of the famous foundry. In 1803 the heritage of Hayange had been returned by purchase to the heirs. The imperial eagle protects them, now. This emblem allows us to date the casting, since it was in 1804 that Napoleon repudiated the Gallic rooster: "animal that lives on manure and is eaten by the fox. Mine the eagle, the bird that guards the lightning and fixes the sun". Plaque with an ovoid shield held by two cupids carrying a palm in the other hand and topped with an imperial eagle clasping a thunderbolt. Two chimerical birds hold a flowering branch in their beaks. Its frame is carved with split leaves. A detail for this coat of arms, the handle of the hammer is substituted in barrel of cannon and the lower part of the rod and the stock of the anchor are predominant of a part of the family coat of arms, to underline the attributes linked to the activities of the forge like the cannon balls. This plate was found in Montboucher sur Jabron in Drôme. Its weight is 45 kg. Sources: - Michel Rézette, sheet of the hob with the arms of the house of Wendel. Private collection Marville. - Chimney hobs and stove plates. Communication made by MR-C Jacques at the 75th Congress of Learned Societies at the Faculty of Letters. Thanks to Michel Rezette for his precious help. You can visit our site: www.claudeaugustin.com