Page 192 - Auction84-Book1

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D) Boutet Boxlock Flintlock Pocket Pistol - NSN,
47 cal., 1 3/8 inch round bbl., bright finish, ebony
grips. This beautiful pocket pistol forms a pair with the next pistol. Pocket pistols are among the rarest items from the Versailles Manufactory. Their Greco-Roman theme fits excellently with the attribution that they were presented to Napoleon after his victories as the commander of the Army of Italy against Austria and Sardinia. A related pair of double barreled pocket pistols by Jean Lepage c. 1800 is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Accession Number: 28.196.5–.6a–c) and noted as inscribed as engraved by one of the members of the Montagny family engravers from St. Etienne. They note the engraving may be specifically from Fluery Montagny. The engraving quality and style is consistent with the present pair, and the grip inlays are also similar, but the MET pair features less extensive embellishment overall.
The present pair has flat folding triggers, sliding safety buttons on top, “BOUTET/DIRECTEUR/ARTISTE” signed on the undersides at the breeches surrounded by floral engraving. Cockerels and wreaths are featured on top of the barrels. The cockerel or Gallic rooster was
a traditional symbol of the French Nation that came
to prominence again during the French Revolution, particularly prior to the declaration of the empire. A “Greek fire” or grenade motif is engraved along the underside of the barrels and on either side of the cocks. Gorgonieons are between the cocks and safety buttons. A scene of Jupiter’s thunderbolts being forged is on
the frizzens which thus also relates to the use of that symbol on other areas of the garniture. The top jaws have mythical salamanders. The rest of the surfaces of the pistols serve as canvases for elaborate engraving and carving details that are unique to the respective pistol but coordinate to form a truly exceptional pair. Two of the animal scenes on the pistols were noted
in the 1976 catalog as based on plates 7 and 8 in Johann Elias Ridinger’s “Gruendliche Beschreibung
und Vorstellung der Wilden Thiere nach ihrer Natur, Geschlecht, Alter und Spur” (Thorough Description and Presentation of Wild Animals...).
On the first pistol the right side of the frame features a large lion nursing a pair of cubs, and a male lion
in smaller scale along with trees is seen in the background. The left side has a serpent at the frizzen
hinge, a small frog below, and a scene with a large male lion in the foreground and another male lion pursued by hunters in the background backed by a volcanic mount with a pair of trees. The underside features a scene Hercules preparing to smash one of the heads of the Lernaean Hydra with his club. The lower tang has
“A VERSAILLES.” A pair of fighting cocks is on the fence, The ebony grip has contrasting boxwood inlays with
a mask of Apollo and lyre on the right, caduceus and mask of Hermes on the left, floral designs down the back, raised relief carved borders, and silver accents down the back.
CONDITION: Very fine with mostly bright metal surfaces exhibiting exceptionally crisp markings and engraving and some areas of minor patination. The grip is also very fine and has crisp carving, some shrinkage at the junction with the frame, slight repairs on the right roundel, and thin hairline cracks starting by the lower tang screw. Mechanically fine.
E) Boutet Boxlock Flintlock Pocket Pistol - NSN, 47 cal., 1 3/8 inch round bbl., bright finish, ebony grips. On the second pocket pistol the right side of the frame features scene that appears to be placed in Africa and consists of a large hyena in the foreground,
a small bird and lizard at the front, and a small antelope in the background. The left side has a scene with a doe and faun with foliage and an estate in the background. The underside features Vulcan, the god
of fire, metalworking, and the forge which ties nicely with the scene on the frizzens, and, as the god of volcanoes, he coordinates with the imagery on the left side of the first pocket pistol in the set, and Vulcan is of course relevant to arms-making. The lower tang has “MANUFACT” which completes the “MANUFACTURE A VERSAILLES” markings found on pairs of pistols from the Versailles Manufactory. A cannon on a carriage is on the fence. The ebony grip has contrasting boxwood inlays with a mask of Jupiter and thunderbolt on the right (coordinating with designs on multiple areas of the garniture and of course relevant to the imagery elsewhere on this pistol), cornucopia and likely mask of Bacchus on the left, floral designs down the back, raised relief carved borders, and silver accents down the back.