2020 September Premier, Volume I

Nicholas Noel Boutet Craftsmanship Shows Unparalleled Perfection
LOT 252
An Extremely Rare and Superb Cased Pair of
Percussion Pocket Pistols by Nicholas Noel Boutet,
Director Artiste of Versailles, Gunsmith to King Louis XVI
and the Emperor Napoleon, Circa 1803 -A) Nicolas Noel
Boutet Percussion Pistol - NSN, 44 percussion cal., 1 inch round
bbl., bright finish, hardwood grips. These magnificent pistols
were made prior to 1804, the date when Boutet’s son, Pierre-
Nicholas, joined his father at the Versailles Manufactory. Though
of traditional box lock, turn off barrel, folding trigger pocket pistol
design, they transcend all other similar pistols in their execution
and consummate mastery of wood carving, inlay, engraving,
polish, artistry and use of mythological symbols. General Napoleon
Bonaparte’s conquest of Egypt in 1798 made the Sphinx an essential
symbol in French Empire art and it is possible that these pistols
were commissioned by the Directory to commemorate this event
and presented to one of the generals who participated. Research in
the Versailles records at the Metropolitan Museum or the Musee de
l’Armee may reveal the identity of the intended recipient. Nicholas
Noel Boutet is universally regarded as the greatest artist in the history
of firearms and these pistols are proof of this as they are true works
of art in pistol form. The engraving is exquisitely rendered and of a
quality equal to anything by the Brown Brothers or Creative Art only
they are two centuries earlier. As with all of the finest pairs, each
pistol has different engraving, one with a dog and antlers,
urns with fruit, and a mythical head of a harvest deity, and
the other a rooster and a horned devil. The trigger plates each
feature the same beautiful draped goddess but in different
poses, framed standing on urns. Pistols are signed in full on
underside of breeches “Boutet Directeur Artiste” and on top
of frames “Manufact Versailles”. All screws are finely engraved
as are the push on safeties. The centerhammers are engraved
with finely checkered hammer spurs indicating conversion by
Boutet, himself, who worked well into the percussion period.
Though the metalwork of these pistols is of the finest quality
it is the woodwork of the butts that sets them apart from
other Boutets, even the grand double cased pair made for
Napoleon in the Musee de l’Armee which have flat gold inlaid
Sphinxes. Boutet’s woodcarving is always the best quality but
his use of Grenoble walnut, inlaid with ebony, and overlaid
with high raised relief carved polished boxwood is of the
greatest rarity. Each pistol stock is a superb wood sculpture
with relief Sphinxes, caduceus, swords, lyre, and the Masonic
all seeing eye in polished boxwood. The Sphinxes on both
pistols are posed in different positions as on only the very finest
decorated pairs. The pistols are cased in their original upright
casing with the original barrel wrench. A similar upright casing is in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 219