Nicolas-Noel Boutet is a French gunsmith, under whose leadership the Versailles Arms Factory produced more than half a million weapons. One of his creations is a pair of short-barreled pistols depicting a harpy and a bird sitting on a lion's head. Both items were made around 1810 in the Empire style, which was common in Europe in the first third of the 19th century and was based on the art of the Roman Empire.
The polished metal is covered with fine inlay and is combined with ebony, from which the handles are decorated with gold. The corrugated surface allows you to securely hold the pistols while firing. Pistols can be quickly reloaded without a ramrod. Despite their modest size, these little ones can shoot tiny bullets quite powerfully.
However, such pistols were valued due to highly artistic performance, and not for technical characteristics. Of course, the name of the creator, Nicolas-Noel Butet, gave solidity. The weapon was kept for some time by the Marquis of Hartford, an English military man and politician who lived in France for many years, collecting rare items and works of art all his life. Today, both copies, along with some other products of the gunsmith, are in the Wallace Collection - an art museum in London.
