Hache (carpenter family)

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The Hache dynasty was one of the most important carpentry families in France during the 18th century.

Noel Hache

The founder Noel Hache (born 1635 in Calais ) did his apprenticeship with various masters in Northern Europe, concentrating above all on the technique of veneer , a new way of decorating furniture with tropical woods in France at the time. After his apprenticeship, he went on a roll through France and finally settled in Toulouse , where he was unrivaled with his new skills and celebrated his first successes. The quality of his work, his ambition and perseverance helped him to assert himself against the resistance of the local guilds.

Thomas Hache

The family's ascent came to a temporary halt with Noel's death in 1675. Of his children, only Thomas Hache (1664–1747) escaped this fate by leaving Toulouse . His path led him to Chambéry and Savoy, where he learned Italian styles of decoration. For these, local types of wood with light colors were preferred. There he brought up a mixture of Italian and Flemish veneer styles. His rise began when he married the daughter of a Grenoble carpenter .

After twenty years in Grenoble , he reached the peak of his career and was given the title of “carpenter of the Dukes of Orléans” by Philip II, the Duke of Orléans (1674–1723), which no one has ever received before or after him . His furniture is evidence of the master's precision as well as his perfect knowledge of local and tropical wood species that he used in his works. The master worked with a craftsman and an apprentice until his son Pierre became an apprentice to him in 1725. From then on, father and son worked together until 1747 without any competition in the family.

Pierre Hache

When Pierre Hache (1705–1776) took over the workshop in 1747, a new period began for the dynasty. From then on, the furniture bore the stamp “Hache à Grenoble”. Guarantees of origin on furniture was not common at this time, which shows that the Hache family wanted to become known outside of Grenoble and expand production.

Jean-François and Christophe-André Hache

Pierre's son Jean-François did his apprenticeship in Paris , where he perfected his skills with the king's carpenter. Then he drew his furniture with his own stamp "Hache & Fils à Grenoble".

Jean-François furniture was modern and inventive, from the simplest models to the unconventional. After Pierre's death in 1776, Jean-François and his brother Christophe-André took over the business. They expanded their activities to include various kinds of handicrafts (e.g. wood, metal, leather, clothing, construction) and soon began trading in the materials that they themselves used to make their furniture. The French Revolution of 1789 affected the family: the construction of public buildings prevented the project of a new factory, and the order situation was poor. When Jean-François died in 1796, there was no one in his family to take over the baton. This is how the history of the Hache joinery ended in 1831. When Christophe-André Hache died without male descendants, the Hache dynasty also died out with his death.

The works of the Hache can still be admired today in the Musée Dauphinois in Grenoble .

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