Pair Of Boutet Pistols

Pair of Officer's pistols with barrels designed by Nicolas Noël Boutet, Artistic Director of the Versailles Manufactory.
Octagonal, slightly blunderbussed barrels at the muzzle with very fine hairline rifling. They are blued and decorated on the barrel with large gilt thunderbolts. Gilt fillet at the muzzle. They are engraved on the two upper side panels with the words "Manuf Royale" on one and "à Versailles" on the other. Six hallmarks combining those of Boutet and those of Liège are struck on the barrel. Versailles had the rifled barrels of its luxury weapons and carbines manufactured in Liège, the only one equipped, at the time, with the machines necessary for rifling the barrels. This barrel is fixed by a key to the mount.
The flat-bodied plates are made of polished and marbled steel. They are engraved "Boutet à Versailles". The lock tails are decorated with friezes. The swan-neck hammers are decorated with lines. The screws are guilloché. The battery is turned back and the bassinet has a spark arrestor. The interior of the locks is in perfect condition and testifies to all the skill of the Versailles workers. The trigger is adjustable.
The short-barreled stock is made of selected walnut. The stock is very finely checkered. The very sloping shape of the stock is one of the characteristics of Versailles productions. The cap is made of an octogonal plate of marbled steel, which rests on a scalloped ebony frieze. All the fittings are marbled steel.
This pair is numbered 209. It is in very good condition in beautiful gilding. Its appearance is identical to that of the Empire, suggesting that it was manufactured at the very beginning of the Restoration.

Nicolas Noël BOUTET (1761-1833): arquebusier to the King, then Director of the Versailles Manufactory, from Year II to 1818. He produced bladed and firearms, especially those of reward, honor and great luxury. He acquired an immense international reputation for the quality of execution and the originality of his production. He opened a warehouse for the Manufacture in Paris at 1236 rue de la Loi (rue de Richelieu) in the year XI, then at 87 rue de Richelieu in 1807. He suffered serious financial setbacks during the Restoration, and he found himself a private arquebusier at 23 rue des Filles Saint-Thomas from 1823 to 1831. He had a son, Pierre Nicolas (1786-1816), who was briefly associated with his activity; this is why the arms of the Boutet company bear the signature BOUTET & FILS.