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LOT 381
Very Fine Versailles Boutet Manufactory Flintlock Fusil - NSN, 60
cal., 36 5/8 inch part octagon bbl., blue/gold/bright finish, walnut stock. This circa 1800
light flintlock fusil is of delicate proportions and originates from the famous factory at Versailles.
It features a fire blued smoothbore barrel with a small bayonet stud on the bottom near the muzzle, a rounded blade front sight, gilt girdle at the transition point,
gold around the vent, and “BC” (upper left), “NB” and
Provenance: The Norman R. Blank Collection.
Estimate: 10,000 - 18,000
LOT 382
Engraved, Relief Chiseled and Carved, and Silver Mounted Francois
Huet of Chambery 17th Century Flintlock Sporting Gun - NSN, 16
gauge, 38 1/4 inch part octagon bbl., blue/bright/silver finish, walnut stock. This extremely ornate
flintlock smoothbore sporting gun was originally manufactured in the French city of Chambery circa
1675 and was updated during its working life with a more modern barrel and stock. The rounded lock features exceptionally fine decoration and mixes low relief chiseled and engraved ornament involving foliate scrolls inhabited
by bestial and animal masks and is signed by the maker twice, the first beneath the priming pan with the signature “HVET/A CHAM/BERY”
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“NB” monogram (top), and “LC” (right) makers’ marks lined in gold. The lock is signed “Manufre/a Versailles,” and the furniture is burnished steel. Figured three quarter length walnut stock. Nicolas- Noel Boutet (1761-1833) became gunmaker-in-ordinary to King Louis XVI in 1788, the artistic director of the newly formed arms factory at Versailles in 1792, then its head director in 1798, and continued to work under direction of Napoleon. The factory manufactured regulation weapons for
the French military as well as some of the finest presentation arms ever made.
CONDITION: Very fine with 95% plus original fire blue finish along the barrel, flaking gold at the vent, bright lock and furniture with some light patination mainly
on the trigger guard extension, and minimal light age and storage related wear. The stock is also very fine and has smooth finish and a few light dings and scratches. Mechanically excellent.
within a small roundel held aloft by a putto with a Turk’s head at its feet and the second signature engraved behind the cock reading “FRANCOIS HVET/A/CHAMBERY”. The three- stage blued barrel appears to date from around 100 years after the original gun was made and features tapering round forward stages divided by a turned girdle and a partially fluted
octagonal to polygonal breech section with border engraved iron tang. The barrel is retained by pins and a single silver barrel band held in place by a spring clip formed as the tongue of a silver sea serpent inlet into the right side of the forearm of the stock. The barrel is fitted with the elaborately engraved, chiseled and pierced front and rear sights from the original
17th century barrel. The iron furniture comprises the trigger plate, trigger guard, heel plate and side plate from the original 17th century gun with the addition of two fluted ramrod pipes. The back of the trigger is finely pierced and engraved with
a serpent. The side plate is intricately formed with a prominent high relief chiseled serpent against a pierced background of foliate scrollwork inhabited by masks, a bird, a further putti and an elf-like figure. The figured full length stock has light foliate carving around the barrel tang and trigger guard tangs, and has a horn tipped ramrod housed beneath the forearm. CONDITION: Fine with crisp markings and designs throughout, 75% plus of the blue on the barrel exhibiting fading mainly on the breech end, attractive aged patina on the silver, resurfaced frizzen, mostly silver-gray
patina on the iron, and generally minor overall wear from age and storage. The stock has some light scratches, empty slots for a sling swivel and stud, and mostly distinct carving. Mechanically excellent.
Provenance: The Norman R. Blank Collection.
Estimate: 6,500 - 9,500