Nicolas-Noël Boutet (1761-1833) was trained by his father, a royal gunsmith, and secured his place in the upper echelon of French gunmakers by marrying the daughter of his father's partner which allowed him to become gunmaker-in-ordinary to King Louis XVI in 1788. He became the artistic director of the arms factory at Versailles in 1792 and then the head director in 1798. Under his direction, some of the finest pieces of firearms art ever crafted flowed from Versailles. Napoleon was so impressed by his work that he granted a concession to Boutet for arms for 18 years, and Boutet continued to work in Paris after the Second Bourbon Restoration. The octagonal maker's marks on the upper left and upper right barrel flats are those identified in the article "The Manufacture d'Armes de Versailles" by Dean Taylor as dating to 1805-1815. The swamped barrels have finely grooved rifling, dovetailed blade front sights, gold borders at the muzzles along with shell patterns, sighting grooves at the breech, notch rear sights at the junction with the barrel tangs, "Manufre a Versailles" on the upper left flats, "Boutet Directeur Artiste" on the upper right flats, golden geometric designs and the noted maker's marks at the breech, gold vent liners, "183" and "1" (A) and "2" (B) on the left flats above the stock lines, and dished and engraved upper tangs also numbered "1" (A) and "2" (B). The underside of the barrels have "BOUTET," "NB," "LC," "BC," and "MANU/VLLS." The nicely sculpted and floral engraved locks have "BOUTET/A VERSAILLES" at center, small round knob half-cock safety switches, and gold lined pans. The lock and furniture are bright steel. The trigger guards are spurred and have a nude female bust on the finials and young satyrs playing a lyre on "A" and drum on "B". The adjustable single set triggers are finely textured at the front. A crab is on the pommel cap of "A," and "B" has a lobster. All of the metal work is very intricately sculpted. The stocks have basket weave style checkering, floral bloom carving above the pommels, and floral pattern ebony/ebonized trim at the pommels. The case is inscribed "Manufre/D'armes/A Versailles" on the lid escutcheon, and the case interior style is very similar to the case for the incredible pair presented to King George IV in 1810 and viewable online via the Royal Trust Collection. The interior is closely fit to the pistols and the accessories which include: a steel cleaning rod with T-handle, ornate ball mold, ramrods, hammer/chisel for flint knapping, mallet, patch puller, vent pick, screwdriver, green powder flask with gilt designs, an oiler, and three keys.

Fine with 95% plus original gold, mostly bright lock and furniture with some light patination, mix of 40% original blue finish and brown patina along with distinct twist patterns along the barrel, minor edge wear, limited light spotting, and generally minor wear, including some scrapes on the frizzen from firing. The stock is fine and has crisp checkering and carving, some hairline cracks and repairs in the forend, a few scrapes and dents, and minor cracks in the pommel trim. Mechanically excellent. The case is very good and has moderate age and storage related wear on the exterior such as some large cracks and much lighter wear on the relined interior. The accessories range from fine to very fine and have minor wear appropriate to their age such as some slight oxidation. Provenance: The Gerald Klaz Collection

See "A."

Fine with 95% plus original gold, mostly bright furniture with a little patination, crisp markings and engraving, mix of 25% original blue finish and smooth brown patina along the barrel as well as distinct twist patterns, some minor oxidation, and general mild wear. The stock is also fine and has crisp checkering and carving, some minor cracks and repairs at the pommel and forend, hairline cracks in the midsection, and minor dings and scratches. Mechanically excellent. Overall, this is a very attractive set exhibiting aspects of the earlier Rococo decoration as well as some interesting classical motifs. Provenance: the collections of Clay Bedford and Dr. Gerald Klaz.