Harache family

The Harache family was a French Huguenot dynasty of goldsmiths and silversmiths associated principally with London. Several members left France during the migration of Protestants that followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, while others had already established connections in England. Over roughly a century, members of the family worked in London as makers and dealers in precious-metal objects, contributing to the development of late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English silver. The family’s work covered both largework and smallwork. Largework included substantial hollowware, candlesticks, dishes, wine cisterns and other forms of silver plate. Smallwork included spoons, snuff boxes, jewelry and related goldsmiths’ wares. Their production combined refined construction with cut-card ornament, applied decoration and engraving. The work of Pierre Harache the elder, the best-known member of the family, was considered highly accomplished in both design and execution and attracted elite patrons. His output has sometimes been compared with that of the prominent Huguenot silversmith David Willaume. The family’s London story began with Nicolas Harache, who appears to have arrived with his wife, Marie Mascrier, and their daughter between 1667 and 1668. Their son Thomas was baptized at the French church in Threadneedle Street in November 1668. After Nicolas’s death, Marie returned to Rouen and later came back to London with her second husband, Jean Lefebvre, and her family. Other relatives followed, including Madeleinne Harache and her husband Edouard Hobbema, Pierre Harache the elder, Jean Harache, Jeremy Harache, Pierre Harache the younger and Abraham Harache. Pierre Harache the elder became the family’s most prominent craftsman. Born in Rouen in 1639, he reached England in 1681, was admitted to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1682 and later registered as a largeworker. His London workshop operated from Suffolk Street near Charing Cross, and at least one surviving object bears his mark and a 1705 date. Following reassessment of family marks and biographies, several important works once assigned to Pierre Harache the younger have been attributed instead to the elder, including a 1704 wine cistern associated with the Worshipful Company of Barbers and the 1703 Methuen Dish at the Ashmolean Museum. Women in the family could also participate in the trade. Anne Harache, Pierre the elder’s wife, was recorded among those granted denization in 1682, giving her the legal capacity to trade in her own name. Documentary references associate her with the supply of silver candlesticks and a large silver plate. This evidence illustrates that the family’s commercial activity was not necessarily limited to male workshop heads. Later generations continued the trade. Francis Harache, son of Abraham, became a smallworker and registered a mark in 1738. His brother Thomas trained under him, later operating independently as a silversmith, snuff-box maker, goldworker, jeweler and toyman. Thomas worked first in St Martin’s Lane and later in Pall Mall, retiring in 1778 and dying in 1785. The family also used a company style recorded as “Pet: harache & Co. goldsmiths,” and at least one additional Pierre Harache dealt in second-hand silver through Hoare’s Bank. The surviving evidence therefore presents the Haraches not as a modern consumer brand, but as a network of related craftsmen, workshop operators and dealers whose marks and objects are studied within the history of English silver.

The Haraches were a family of Huguenot extraction whose London presence developed through successive migrations from France. The religious and political background was the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in October 1685, which intensified persecution of French Protestants and encouraged many skilled artisans to seek refuge abroad. Some members of the family were in England before the revocation, but the wider movement of relatives to London formed part of the broader Huguenot migration. Nicolas Harache appears to have been the earliest documented family member to settle in London. He arrived with Marie Mascrier and their daughter between 1667 and 1668, and their son Thomas was baptized at the French church in Threadneedle Street in November 1668. Documentary evidence does not establish that Nicolas was himself a master goldsmith, nor does it identify his workshop. After his apparent death in the mid-1670s, Marie returned to Rouen and remarried Jean Lefebvre. In 1688 she returned to London with Lefebvre and members of the family, reconnecting them with the city’s Huguenot community. Madeleinne Harache and her husband, the Parisian goldsmith Edouard Hobbema, arrived in 1675. Pierre Harache the elder came to England in 1681 and was denizened in 1682. He was admitted to the Goldsmiths’ Company in July of that year and later worked as a largeworker from premises in Suffolk Street near Charing Cross. His workshop is associated with technically accomplished silver plate decorated with cut-card and applied ornament, together with engraving. He appears to have served highly influential patrons and is regarded as the leading figure in the family’s history. Pierre’s wife, Anne, provides evidence that women connected with the family could engage in the precious-metal trade. Her appearance in the 1682 denization list gave her the right to trade independently. Records associate an Anne Harache with the supply of silver candlesticks in Paris and with a substantial silver plate supplied to the Duke of Somerset in 1690. The precise identification of every documentary reference remains subject to historical interpretation, but the evidence is consistent with women’s participation in the family enterprise. Other relatives established workshops or worked within the London trade. Jean Harache arrived by 1687 and later received Royal Bounty. His son Jean Harache II was active as a jeweler and registered a mark in 1726. Jeremy Harache reached England by 1683 but returned to France in the late 1690s. Pierre Harache the younger and Abraham Harache arrived in the 1680s. Pierre the younger was admitted to the Goldsmiths’ Company in 1698 and registered as a largeworker. Abraham appears to have specialized in smallwork, although his mark has not been securely identified. The attribution of objects made by the two Pierres has been revised as genealogical and hallmark evidence has improved. Some major works previously assigned to Pierre the younger are now attributed to Pierre the elder, including the Methuen Dish dated 1703 and a wine cistern dated 1704. Such changes demonstrate the difficulty of distinguishing related workshops when marks, addresses and documentary records overlap. The next generation included Francis and Thomas Harache, sons of Abraham. Francis completed an apprenticeship with Isaac Cabane, took Thomas as his apprentice and registered a mark in 1738. Thomas completed his apprenticeship in 1741 and operated independently in St Martin’s Lane before moving to Pall Mall. He described himself at different times as a silversmith, snuff-box maker, goldworker, jeweler and toyman. He retired in 1778 and died in 1785. The family also operated under the trading style “Pet: harache & Co. goldsmiths,” while another Pierre Harache dealt in second-hand silver through Hoare’s Bank. By the late eighteenth century, the family’s active workshop tradition had ended, leaving its surviving objects and documentary records as material for the study of Huguenot migration, London guild practice and English silver.

• 1778

  Thomas Harache retires

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas Harache retired after a career spanning silversmithing, goldworking, jewelry, snuff-box making and related luxury trades.

• 1738

  Francis Harache registers a mark

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  Francis Harache registered a mark as a smallworker, continuing the family’s workshop tradition into the eighteenth century.

• 1704

  Wine cistern produced

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  A wine cistern associated with the Worshipful Company of Barbers was made in 1704 and is now attributed to Pierre Harache the elder.

• 1703

  Methuen Dish produced

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  The silver dish now held by the Ashmolean Museum is dated 1703 and has been reassigned in modern scholarship to Pierre Harache the elder.

• 1698

  Pierre Harache the younger becomes a freeman

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  Pierre the younger was admitted to the Goldsmiths’ Company and entered three marks as a largeworker at Goldsmiths’ Hall.

• 1688

  Marie Harache returns to London

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  Marie Mascrier, by then married to Jean Lefebvre, returned from Rouen to London with family members and appeared in the records of the French church.

• 1682

  Pierre Harache joins the Goldsmiths’ Company

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  Pierre was made free of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and was also recorded among those granted denization. Anne Harache was likewise listed as a denizen.

• 1681

  Pierre Harache the elder arrives in England

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  Pierre Harache the elder reached England in October, beginning the London career of the family’s most celebrated silversmith.

• 1667

  Nicolas Harache reaches England

  [1]Harache familyen.wikipedia.org

  Nicolas Harache appears to have migrated to London with Marie Mascrier and their daughter between 1667 and 1668, establishing the earliest documented family connection with England.

High-quality Huguenot workshop silver and goldsmiths' wares for affluent private and institutional patrons in late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century London.

• Largework

  Silver plate and hollowware

  The family’s largework included substantial silver objects such as dishes, candlesticks, wine cisterns and other hollowware. Pierre Harache the elder is particularly associated with carefully constructed plate bearing cut-card ornament, applied decoration and engraving. Surviving and documented pieces demonstrate the family’s role in elite English silver production.

• Goldsmithing

  Smallwork

  Several Haraches worked as smallworkers, producing objects such as spoons, snuff boxes and other relatively portable goldsmiths’ wares. Abraham Harache is described as specializing in this area, while Francis Harache had a substantial output and used a mark associated with a considerable body of smallwork.

• Jewelry and precious-metal goods

  Jewelry and related luxury wares

  Members of the family described themselves variously as jewelers, goldsmiths and toymen. Jean Harache II was identified as a jeweler, and Thomas Harache combined jewelry with silverwork, goldwork and snuff-box making.

1. 1Harache familyen.wikipedia.org