Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (born 9 January 1753 in

Cauffry Cauffry () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Population Personalities * Adrien Vachette, 19th-century goldsmith See also * Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 680 Communes of France, comm ...

– deceased 23 September 1839 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

best known for the production of ornate gold boxes and the use of unusual and natural materials like tortoiseshell.

Biography

Adrien Vachette was born in

and possibly apprenticed with Pierre-François Drais, who sponsored him for a master's certificate 21 July 1779. He had a shop at

Place Dauphine The Place Dauphine () is a public square located near the western end of the Île de la Cité in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, first arrondissement of Paris. It was initiated by Henry IV of France, Henry IV in 1607, the second of his projects ...

, and worked for a time with Marie-Etienne Nitot during the First Empire, and with the firm of Ouizille and Lemoine after the restoration of the monarchy: In 1816, Charles Ouizille and Adrien Vachette became the official jewellers of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

's court. Notable students include Jean-Valentin Morel, who apprenticed with Vachette before opening his own shop in Paris.

Work

Adrien Vachette was a prolific designer and one of the most noted master craftsman of his generation. The use of unusual and natural materials like tortoise shell was characteristic of Vachette's work. Vachette created the design for the

Miraculous Medal The Miraculous Medal (), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces or the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her Marian apparition, apparitions of the ...

, or the Medal of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

, after Saint Catherine Labouré's vision of the Blessed

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. He produced and sold over two million of the medals between 1832 and 1836.

Collections

* The

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

: 31 boxes signed by Vachette (16 from Ancien Régime, 15 from post-revolution). *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London: 1 box painted by Jacques-Joseph de Gault *

Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, ...

of the Rothschild Foundation: 4 boxes *

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

: Cameo of the Virgin and Child and Snuffboxes * Khalili Collection of Enamels of the World: 1 ''boîte à mouches''

Gallery

Cameo of the Virgin and Child MET DP155332.jpg, Cameo of the Virgin and Child. File:Snuffbox MET ES529.jpg, French, Paris; Snuffbox, painting; Metalwork-Gold and Platinum. File:Snuffbox MET DP244404.jpg, French, Paris; Snuffbox; Metalwork-Gold and Platinum. File:Snuffbox with four maritime scenes; Louis XIV crossing the Rhine in 1672 MET DP328630.jpg, Snuffbox with four maritime scenes; Louis XIV crossing the Rhine in 1672. File:Enfants de Lucien Bonaparte.jpg, ''Les enfants de Lucien Bonaparte'', orfèvre Adrien Vachette - Musée du Louvre. File:Empress Josephine Portrait Gold Box.jpg, Miniature portrait of the Empress Josephine on an 18k gold snuff box, with Jean Baptiste Isabey. Circa 1810. File:Snuffbox with Head of Bacchus LACMA M.2010.55a-b (3 of 4).jpg, Micromosaic made in Rome, gold box made in Paris, Micromosaic 1804, box 1809–1819, with Clemente Ciuli.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vachette, Adrien 1753 births 1839 deaths French goldsmiths 18th-century French businesspeople 19th-century French businesspeople 18th-century jewellers 19th-century French jewellers