Noël-Nicolas BOUTET artistic director of the MANUFACTURE DE - Lot 498

Noël-Nicolas BOUTET artistic director of the MANUFACTURE DE VERSAILLES RARE PISTOLET à silex, de luxe, presented by the First Consul to an officer of the Spanish Navy in Brest in 1802. Fully blued, chased and richly gilded barrel with hair stripes: - on the muzzle, a naval anchor, foliage and a geometric frieze. - from the thunderbolt to half the barrel, of ships, foliage and trident frieze, crosses, trophies (globes, turbans and clubs). The thunderbolt is stamped with six hallmarks: - on the left side "LC" (Jean Leclerc, gunner) and "BC" (unidentified) - on the central side of the bar, "BOUTET" and the intersecting number "NB" in a hexagon, for Nicolas Noël BOUTET. - on the right side, "LC" (Jean Leclerc, gunner) and "NB" for Boutet. The right and left sides of the barrel are engraved "Boutet Directeur Artiste n°168" and "Manufre à Versailles". The undersides of the barrel are stamped "Manu Vlles". Tailstock engraved with foliage. Flat-body lock, fluted at the tail, signed "BOUTET à Versailles". Flat-bodied swan-neck hound engraved with flowers and foliage. Upper jaw and battery decorated with foliage. Bassinet trimmed with gold sparkle. Chased roller spring. Trigger tail with adjusting screw. Rich silver and chased vermeil fittings in high relief: - chopstick loops with beaded ends. - fish-shaped ramrod entrance opening to the muzzle. - trigger guard front decorated with a flowering vase surmounting an acre on a gilded amati background. - chased trigger guard with a ship's prow cutting through the waves, on a gilded amati background. - plain, hallmarked trigger guard tail. - counterplate motifs in palmettes. - punched oval cap on a gilded amati background, decorated with dolphins in reed groves, roped sea anchors and stylized waves in the center. Carved stock with pearled frieze. Varnished walnut mounting with long shaft, richly decorated with silver inlays : - foliage at the two keyways. - a threaded palmette at the lock and counter-lock tails. - marine trophies with anchors, sails and rushes on each side of the stock bend. - radiating motifs on the cap. Wooden ramrod with brass tips and. Iron pastille. Marks : - de titre 950 département (1798-1809) - de grosse garantie department 88 (1798-1809) - goldsmith JM. Consulate period, circa 1802. Caliber 14 mm. 27.1 cm barrel. Overall length: 40 cm. A.B.E. Cracked hammer, minor oxidation on the barrel, discreet wood restorations on the front of the lock plate and barrel by notches. (Detailed condition report available on request). Expert: Cabinet Jean-Claude DEY - Arnaud de GOUVION SAINT-CYR. Tel: +33 (0)1 47 41 65 31 and jean-claude.dey@wanadoo.fr History : This type of pistol was offered to officers of the Spanish navy of the Brest squadron by decree of 4 Floréal Year X (4 May 1802), the first article of which reads: "The First Consul of the Republic, wishing to give the Spanish squadron of Brest a token of his satisfaction with the conduct of the officers of the crews, during their stay in the port, decrees: Article 1. Each captain of the Spanish fleet in Brest will be given a boarding sword and a pair of pistols". The French Empire and the Spanish monarchy were allies at the time, particularly at sea, to counter English hegemony. Part of the Spanish fleet was stationed in Brest. These sailors, present in France between 1799 and 1802, therefore received a box of luxury pistols and a saber, made by the famous Nicolas Noël Boutet, artistic director of the Manufacture de Versailles, which specialized in luxury weapons. These gifts were intended as much to thank the sailors as to strengthen the Franco-Spanish alliance. Several of these boxes are known, including that of Captain BULRON, that of Captain CHURRUCA (preserved in the Madrid Naval Museum with his saber) and others in private hands. These pistols, attributed to the inside of the box containing them, feature identical decoration in the silver fittings. The gilded parts of the barrels are slightly different. The grips have no silver inlays. As far as we know, only one pistol comes close to our weapon: the one preserved in the Toledo Army Museum, unfortunately without attribution. Its decoration and quality are identical, the only difference being the absence of the roller on the battery spring. It should be noted that it is numbered after our gun (n°169) on the