PRESENT FROM EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE TO HER UNCLE JOSEPH, COUNT - Lot 342

Lot n° 342
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Estimation :
50000 - 60000 EUR
PRESENT FROM EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE TO HER UNCLE JOSEPH, COUNT - Lot 342
PRESENT FROM EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE TO HER UNCLE JOSEPH, COUNT PALATINE OF HUNGARY Superb flintlock rifle by "Boutet Fils à Versailles". Attributed to Joseph, Count Palatine of Hungary, uncle of Empress Marie-Louise. Barrel with a slightly blunderbussed muzzle, rifled, damascus ribbon along its entire length, hollowed out in the upper quarter, engraved and enhanced in gold with a frieze of foliage at the muzzle, an arrow and oval motifs trimmed with thunderbolt foliage. The barrel is signed in gold "Boutet et Fils à Versailles" and numbered "521". Blued thunderbolt, edged with two gold fillets, stamped on two sides with the "Boutet" bar and on the upper side with the Imperial Eagle, on a gold background. Polished, flat-bodied lock and hammer. Signed around the battery spring "Boutet et Fils A Versailles". Platinum tail engraved with a bird of prey on its branch. Platinum body engraved with a prancing horse. Safety button on the back of the hammer, decorated with acanthus leaves. Swan-necked hammer finely decorated with a thunderbolt-spitting dragon and vegetal motifs on the upper jaw. Spark arrester basin with two scrolls and gold-trimmed light. Pebble spring. Engine-turned trigger tail, adjustable sensitivity screw. Chased steel counterplate decorated with bat wings, engraved with geese drinking from a fountain. Finger rest trigger guard chased with droplets and engraved with an animal resting in a field. Tailpiece with a squirrel eating a hazelnut. Cut steel trigger guard front decorated with a donkey's head enriched with flowers. Finely engine-turned buttplate in high relief, cut out and engraved with flowers, horns of plenty and an attacking eagle. Mounted in tiger walnut. Barrel with holding ball and squared walnut stock decorated with facetted steel marcasite studding. Keyways and thumbpiece with the numeral "J" under a gold Austrian imperial crown. T.B.E. First Empire period. High-quality piece, notably in the finesse of its chasing and engraving. In its mahogany veneered wooden case, in good condition. Sheathed inside with green felt and red morocco in the lid, inscribed in gold "Manufacture Impériale d'Armes de Versailles Boutet et Fils". And accessories: Steel cleaning rod, two long wooden cleaning and tamping rods with brass tips, a small tamping rod and mallet, a screwdriver (not in the model), its two rectangular-shaped grenadière rings for straps and, two swab-tire tamping tips. Length: 80 cm, Width: 28 cm, Height. 10 cm. Provenance : Collection napoléonienne du Palais Princier de Monaco, Osenat, n°136, November 16, 2014. N.B.: Sold at the time without its case, which was fortunately later found. Biography: Joseph Antoine Jean de HABSBOURGLORRAINE, Archduke of Austria, Prince of Bohemia, Second Prince Palatine of Hungary, (1776-1847), son of Emperor Leopold II of the Holy Roman Empire and Infanta Marie-Louise of Spain. Marshal of the Austrian army. His elder brother reigned as Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire from 1792. In 1810, following the marriage of Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine to Napoleon, Archduke Joseph became Napoleon's uncle by marriage.
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