HÉBERT Thomas Joachim (EN)
Biographical article
Born in 1687, during the reign of Louis XIV, Thomas Joachim Hébert moved between residences throughout his life. It was through his marriage in 1714 to Louise Desgodetz (?-1724), the widow of marchand-mercier Nicolas Guillaume Daustel (died in 1713), that Thomas Joachim first entered into the commerce of fine objects. The marchand-mercier Hébert was residing on the Quai de la Mégisserie, not far from the Place Dauphine and the merchant Edme François Gersaint (1694-1750), when his first wife died in 1724. In 1730, he was remarried to Marie-Jeanne Legras (?-1763), herself the daughter of another marchand-mercier (La Fabrique du luxe : les marchands merciers parisiens au XVIIIe siècle, 2019, p. 64-71). Hébert left the Quai de la Mégisserie in 1736 and settled in a more fashionable commercial artery, rue Saint-Honoré "opposite the Grand Council", a Parisian hotspot for the sale of luxury items near the Palais Royal and the Louvre. At the beginning of his activities, one could find in his shop furniture by the famous cabinetmaker André Charles Boulle (1642-1732), as the Daustel family traded in this type of precious furniture, as well as gems and oriental porcelain (AN, MC, ET/LIII/226). Between 1737 and 1750, his business flourished and the quality of the works he offered attracted the best customers, including the royal family through the administration of Menus-Plaisirs and the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne (La Fabrique du luxe : les marchands merciers parisiens au XVIIIe siècle, 2019, p. 64-71). In 1740, Hébert was responsible for the valuation of property when drafting the inventory after the death of the Duke of Bourbon, 7th Prince of Condé (1692-1740). His professional success was based on the loyalty of a prestigious clientele, thanks to which he developed his business and his personal fortune. He contributed greatly to the development of the Parisian trade of marchand-merciers in the first half of the 18th century. As an indirect witness to this success, the philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) quotes the sign of the store owned by Hébert, "Au Roy de Siam" in his extensive correspondence ("Lettre de Voltaire à l'abbé Moussinot, le 5 juin 1737", Les Vraies Lettres de Voltaire à l’abbé Moussinot, 1875, p. 47). Hébert enjoyed the privilege of being a "merchant following the court", meaning that he could offer his articles at Versailles, in the lower galleries and the stairs of the chateau. He ran his shop on rue Saint-Honoré until 1750, before giving way to the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux (circa 1703-1758). His second wife Marie-Jeanne died in 1763 (AN, MC, ET/XXIII/654), having given birth to a daughter named Marie Margueritte. She in turn went on to marry "M. Dufour, son of the first chambermaid of Madame la Dauphine" Marie-Josèphe de Saxe (1731-1767), as evidenced by the Duke of Luynes in his Mémoires (1751-1752), adding that she was "the daughter of the famous Hébert, merchant at the palace, who will have many possessions" (D'Albert C.-P., 1860-1865, p. 38). In August 1752, Thomas Joachim Hébert moved towards a new activity by acceding to the position of "Counselor Secretary to the King", which ensured him substantial income until his death, on December 23, 1773. He was then residing in a house in rue des Moulins, butte Sainte-Anne, in the parish of Saint-Roch in Paris (AN, MC, ET/LIII/502).
The collection
Hébert's stock of goods was assessed at the time of the death of his first wife in 1724 (AN, MC, ET/LIII/226). Among the lacquers were a large chest, six cabinets and screens, one in Coromandel lacquer and another in soapstone; but the real value of the property resided in oriental porcelains amounting to 35,211 pounds. By the time of his second marriage to Marie-Jeanne Legras in October 1730, Hébert had already greatly developed his commercial activity (AN, MC, ET/CXXII/591). At this point there were over 224 objects described as Chinese, often chests or lacquer boxes, estimated at 5,500 pounds, as well as panels from disassembled screens. Cabinetwork furniture in Boulle marquetry or wood veneer represented around 11,000 pounds. As in 1724, the porcelains, amounting to 42,000 pounds, were Thomas Joachim Hébert’s real treasure. Some Oriental porcelains mounted in gold were estimated at 1,000 pounds, while ewers and potpourris were valued at up to 1,350 pounds. One of two porcelain clocks was estimated at 900 pounds. After 1730, we no longer have any detailed statements on the items offered by Hébert "Au Roy de Siam". As early as 1737, Thomas Joachim Hébert delivered a large number of pieces for the royal administration of Menus-Plaisirs and the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, including the sumptuous Japanese lacquer furniture that had become one of his specialties. Indeed, the idea of veneering furniture made in Parisian workshops with oriental lacquer panels is probably due to Hébert, who had the cabinetmaker Bernard II Van Risen Burgh (B.V.R.B.) (circa 1700-1766) produce a chest of drawers intended for Queen Marie Leszczyńska (1703-1768), for her retirement rooms at the Château de Fontainebleau. Issued on September 26, 1737 (AN, O1 3312, fol. 92 v°-93, n° 1115), this chest of drawers veneered with Japanese lacquer panels on a black background is now in the musée du Louvre (OA 11193). Up to 1747, Hébert provided the royal family with nearly forty pieces of furniture, in Japanese lacquer, Chinese lacquer, and also with flower marquetry. On January 27, 1744, the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne did not hesitate to entrust the marchand-mercier Hébert with a screen of six sheets of black lacquer from Japan (AN, O1 3313, fol. 143 v°-144) for the manufacture of chest of drawers, two corner elements, and a desk intended for the bedroom and study of Louis XV (1710-1774) at the Château de Choisy. Hébert was therefore given the task of supervising the production of the lacquer decoration on the furniture frames executed in the workshop of the cabinetmaker appointed to the Crown, Antoine Robert Gaudreaus (circa 1682-1746). A chest of drawers intended for the sovereign's bedroom, opening with two large drawers and two side leaves, originally fitted with purple breccia marble, was delivered by Gaudreaus on October 17, 1744 (AN, O1 3313, fol. 155, n° 1327) and is now kept at the Palace of Versailles (V.2014.1). A few years earlier, at the end of October 1742 and on January 29, 1743, Thomas Joachim Hébert delivered for Madame de Mailly's "blue room" at the Château de Choisy (AN, O1 3313, fol. 99 v°, n° 1290 and fol. 106, n° 1294.) a chest of drawers and a corner cupboard (Musée du Louvre, OA 11292 and OA 9533). These two pieces of furniture in "Martin varnish", that is to say with a Western lacquer of Chinese inspiration, are less expensive than those veneered with real lacquer panels from the Far East, but above all they harmonise wonderfully with the decoration of the room, to bronzes not gilded but silvered. It was the cabinetmaker Mathieu Criaerd (circa 1689-1776) who is in charge of this sublime achievement under the direction of Hébert. The mercier also collaborated with Parisian cabinetmakers such as Étienne Doirat (circa 1675-1732) and the Migeon family (BNF, ms. fr., na., 4765). In addition to the king and queen, the Dauphine Marie-Josèphe de Saxe (1731-1767), Mesdames filles du couple royal, and Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764) benefited from the lacquer furniture delivered by Hébert in the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne for their furnishings in the various royal residences. Until the sale of his business in 1750, Hébert procured 120 objects for the Crown. Lazare Duvaux perpetuated the fashion launched by Hébert for lacquer furniture. In addition to clocks and light fixtures, mounted porcelains truly represent the most important part of Thomas Joachim Hébert's merchandise trade. On May 18, 1743 (AN, O1 3313, fol. 113v°-114), he handed over a perfume fountain composed of a crackled celadon porcelain vase richly mounted in chiseled and gilded bronze to "serve in the wardrobe" of Louis XV at the Palace of Versailles, "next to His Majesty's new bedroom,” and now exhibited at the Palace of Versailles (V 5251), This fountain is designated in the inventory of the Garde-Meuble as being made of "antique speckled gray porcelain [...], mounted on two large antique porcelain dogs with white and coloured backgrounds, adorned with gilt ormolu bronze, with a crayfish of said bronze on the lid […]”. The accompanying bowl of “the same antique speckled gray porcelain” has to date not been located (AN, O1 3313, fol. 113v°-114).
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