Pierre Hache - Pair Of Inlaid Boxes With Secrets And Safety Devices Stamped Hache In Grenoble.

Rare pair of secret and safety boxes in marquetry of native woods such as sycamore, natural maple burls, green-tinted ash and olive wood enhanced with marquetry fillets called "aux petites mains" forming reserves on all five sides and its interior; all on a walnut frame. Rectangular in shape with rounded corners in quarter-rounds, they both open with a lid centered on a faceted drop handle; which is fixed from the inside. ; a technique typical of the Hache workshop, this avoided seeing screw heads on the front in a concern for refinement of detail. This lid is articulated by two small hinges, supported by an articulated hook nestled in a roughness provided for this purpose on its left profile, under the lid in the edge of the tank. On the back of said lid is a compartment where important papers could be slipped. These were held by a shelf locked by two hooks and centered on a mobile pull ring, articulated by hinges; the whole still in polished metal. The longitudinal, lateral plate of the interior cavity comes out, revealing two secrets; the main one, by releasing a mobile shelf giving axis to a double bottom. The secondary one is nestled in the thickness of the frame; this one is topped with a thin walnut plate running from one hinge to the other of the articulation of the lid of the box in order to hide its existence. Once this is removed, a new cavity appears; cavity where a walnut note case is inserted, the latter is locked by a pull integrated on its side part. The facade opens to a hexagonal lock entrance in molded metal, identical to that of the box of the V&A Museum of London. Large screws crossing the height of each of the boxes, on the sides allowed them to be fixed on a piece of furniture or in a carriage; alas one of them is an orphan. The reason for this security system, which is surprising to say the least on marquetry boxes, added to the complicated locks unlocked in two stages by keys with an inverted "S" whose barrel is in the shape of a triangle; attests to its function of transporting valuable documents and could be fixed on a support provided in the carriage or stagecoach that transported them to its recipient. The latter held a duplicate of the keys, necessary to open the lid and remove the screws that fixed them in the carriage. The stamp of Pierre Hache, "Hache in Grenoble" is struck on the edge of the facade on either side of the lock plate. Dimensions: width 33cm - depth 22.5cm - height 16.5cm.
Bibliography: - Pierre and Françoise Rouge, Le Génie des Hache Edition Faton.

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