BOUTET DIRECTEUR ARTISTE MANUFACTURE A VERSAILLES. - Lot 33

Lot n° 33
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Estimation :
60000 - 80000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 65 000EUR
BOUTET DIRECTEUR ARTISTE MANUFACTURE A VERSAILLES. - Lot 33
BOUTET DIRECTEUR ARTISTE MANUFACTURE A VERSAILLES. Necessary award cassette "Récompense Nationale le Directoire Exécutif au Général Hardy". Large oak nécessaire cassette with plaque on the lid engraved with the above award, in an inlaid brass oval. Sheathed in green cloth inside, edged with silver braid around the edges. It contains: A long, fine pair of flintlock pistols. Flintlock barrels with hairline rifling, slightly blurred at the muzzles, blued, curled on a matte background, marked in gold on the left side "Boutet Directeur Artiste", and, on the right side, "Manufacture à Versailles" (one marked "Manafacture"?), decorated, engraved, chased with urns with fruit, branches of foliage and feathers, hallmarked "JBC", "NB", "JBE" on a gilded background. Breech shanks engraved with lozenges, flowers, foliage and pearl friezes. Guilloche screws. Lock plates signed "Boutet Directeur Artiste" on one; "Manufre à Versailles" on the other, and flat-bodied swan-neck hammers engraved with foliage and pearls. Round iron basins with large sparkle pare. Engraved pan covers. Roller battery springs. Adjustable triggers. High-gloss polished steel fittings. Entrances to the three rod holders in medallions. Bridges enriched on the front with a dazzling bombe edged with friezes. Counterplates with engraved rosettes and screws. Eight-sided oval knobs with lightning bolts in the center. Selected walnut mounts. Finely squared and carved crossbars with flat backs and long shafts. Wooden sticks with deer antler tips. B.E. Remarkable quality. (some very slight traces of use). And accessories: Screwdriver, horn powder flask with brass beak and fittings, mallet, cleaning rod and tamping rod, small hammer, dosette rod; all in boxwood. Ball mould, oil dispenser, extraction rod with tool, light pin and key in glazed polished iron. All in good condition, complete with all parts. Directoire period, 1795-1799. Gun length: 42 cm. Caliber: 16.6 mm. Case: 49 x 30.5 x Ht 9.5 cm. This box of pistols does not come from General HARDY's armor described in a letter dated October 31, 1799, This box does not come from General HARDY's armor, described in a letter dated October 31, 1799, but from "a carbine (Army Museum collections), four pistols two pommel and two belt (Army Museum collections), a saber (sold in Fontainebleau in 2014), a sword (sold in Fontainebleau in 2022)". It is yet another token of the government's esteem for the general. Related works : - General Hardy's national award saber, l'Empire à Fontainebleau sale, Maître Osenat, expert Jean-Claude Dey, March 23, 2014, no. 179. - Epée (ou glaive) modèle de l'An VI du général Hardy, vente l'Empire à Fontainebleau, Maître Osenat, expert Jean-Claude Dey, December 4, 2022, no. 27. - General Hardy's carbine by Boutet. Musée de l'Armée collections. - Box of four General Hardy pistols by Boutet. Musée de l'Armée collections. Historical background: The Directoire (1795-1799): born of the new constitution of 1795, succeeded the Terror and tried to impose a degree of moderation between revolutionaries and opponents of the Revolution. Executive power was entrusted to a 5-member Directoire, regularly replaced to avoid a dictatorship. But the five directors - Barras, Rewbell, Carnot, Letourneur and La Révellière-Lépeaux - found it difficult to assert themselves against their royalist and revolutionary enemies. Against a backdrop of economic crisis and war, attempts were made to put an end to the regime. An ambitious general was making a name for himself in Italy, Egypt... Bonaparte seized power following the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799), and became First Consul. Biography : HARDY Jean (1762-1802). Entered service on September 22, 1783 as a private in the Monsieur infantry regiment, became corporal in 1785, sergeant in 1786, and fourrier in 1787, resigned on May 25, 1792. Returned to service on September 23, 1792, as adjutant-major in the Épernay national guard, then captain in the 8th battalion of Marne volunteers. Fought at the battle of Valmy on September 20, 1792, and took part in the defense of Philippeville in October 1793. Promoted to provisional brigadier general on November 16, 1793, and confirmed on January 27, 1794. In September 1796, he commanded the Marceau division, and distinguished himself at the battles of Nieder-Olm, Nieder-Ingelheim, Mont Saint-Roch and Mont-Tonnerre. Joined the Sambre-et-Meuse army as commander of Coblence. Assigned to the Army of England, he embarked on the 2nd Irish Expedition on September 16, 1798. Imprisoned
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