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190 - EXCEPTIONAL PISTOLET, MODEL VENDEMIAIRE An XII, BY NICOLAS N…
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Estimate €35,000 - €50,000
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Description
EXCEPTIONAL PISTOLET, MODEL VENDEMIAIRE An XII, BY NICOLAS NOËL BOUTET (1761-1833, EMPIRE ERA) This gun was a special order, probably for an important person. The flintlock flat-body lock is richly engraved and signed Boutet in Versailles. Spurred hammer, double volute bassinet plated in the bottoms. Fluted barrel and hair rifled bore. Octagonal in shape, blued, thunder-stamped on a gold background "NB" and with a Boutet bar. On the sides, initials on a gold background FC. The mouth is decorated with foliage and chevron motifs. A star semis is present from the thunder to the mouth. Silver handlebars. Long walnut shaft profusely inlaid with cut silver garlands. Adjustable trigger. The stock features two griffins joined together. The fixing screws are all guilloched and have a silver-tipped rod. The trimmings are silver in high relief, the trigger guard is decorated with an empanached owl and foliage. A high relief cap depicting a jellyfish head. The bridle is hallmarked three times. Similar pistols with similarly decorated stocks can be found in a box containing two pairs of the Emperor's personal arms. These weapons followed him to St Helena and were bequeathed to his son in his will (on display at the Musée de l'Armée). This pistol is in an exceptional state of preservation, and was made around 1805. Barrel length: 26.5 CM - 10.43 IN. Total length: 40 CM - 15,74 IN. Marks Title Ier coq, and large guarantee dated 88 (department, Seine-Inférieure), (1798-1809). Unidentified silversmith: J.M, a star in chief, under a (grappe), Signed on the lock EXCEPTIONAL PISTOL, "VENDEMIAIRE" MODEL, YEAR XII, BY NICOLAS NOËL BOUTET (1761-1833), EMPIRE PERIOD 40 CM - 15,7 IN. Nicolas Noël Boutet (1761-1833), the most famous French harquebusier of the Revolution and the Empire, was the "Directeur Artiste" of the Manufacture de Versailles. A supplier to successive governments from the Revolution to the Restoration, his luxury weapons were offered as rewards or presents to numerous dignitaries and sovereigns in Europe and the Middle East. In addition to these productions, Boutet also made the luxury weapons that have made the Manufacture de Versailles and the French harquebuserie famous the world over. To create these sumptuous weapons, Boutet brought together specialists from every trade in Versailles. He knew how to harmoniously combine all the noble materials: silver, ebony, gold and ivory. Nicolas Boutet was born in 1767 and died in 1833. Director of the Versailles Manufactory from year II to 1818. He was the greatest French harquebusier and his work is of unequalled quality. The Artistic Director drew his inspiration from antiquity, staged mythology, and in perfection combined symmetry with the laurels of abundance and the fruits of victory promised by Napoleon. " Similar creations can be found in the Louvre, such as these two pairs of pistols belonging to Napoleon I and dating from the early 19th century, or in the Musée de l'Armée, whose collections include a box containing two pairs of pistols that belonged to Napoleon I and were made by Nicolas-Noël Boutet.
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About the sale FURNITURE & OBJETS D'ART
Auction location
Auction time 06/09/2026 at 4:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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