Design for the Decoration of Firearms
ca. 1797–1805
Medium
Pencil, ink, gray wash on paper
Dimensions
2 3/4 x 3 7/8 in. (7 x 9.8 cm)
Classification
Works on Paper-Drawings
Culture
French, Versailles
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Clay P. Bedford Gift, 2004
Accession Number
2004.101.37
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate drawing by Nicolas Noël Boutet captures the refined artistry behind the opulent firearms produced at the Manufacture de Versailles. Active from the late eighteenth into the early nineteenth century, Boutet served as chief gunsmith to the French state, creating lavishly decorated weapons for Napoleon and his court. The small sheet, rendered in pencil, ink, and gray wash, presents ornamental motifs intended for engraving on gun barrels or locks—elegant scrolls, classical figures, and military trophies that reflect the transition from Revolutionary austerity to the grandeur of the E...
About the Artist
Nicolas Noël Boutet · 1761–1833
French, Versailles and Paris, 1761–1833