Exceptional National Reward saber signed by Boutet Directeur - Lot 41

Exceptional National Reward saber signed by Boutet Directeur Artiste at the Manufacture de Versailles, German-style mounting, almond-shaped pommel with floret-decorated cover, single guard limb, split at the joint to attach a lanyard, decorated with gilded friezes and signed below "Manufre à Versailles" and below the quillon "Boutet Directeur Artiste", hexagonal auricles decorated with a Phrygian bonnet on a revolutionary pike, and bordered with barrettes with flowers, alternate filigree spindle, bronzed metal band and double chain, palmette quillon, superb 835 mm curved damascus blade, flat-backed and counter-edged at the head, engraved and decorated with trophies of revolutionary symbolism (cannon, (cannon, beam, flags, barrel, musical instruments, etc.), and civic wreaths with banners marked "Récompense" on one side and "Nationale" on the other, heel engraved, gilded and marked Klingenthal on the back, bronzed steel scabbard, bowl cut out for the auricles, acanthus engravings, garlands and heliotrope motifs enhanced with gold, in the first quarter, a lacing pattern on polished white shagreen, faceted bracelets and studs, bronzed rings, cut-out gilded asymmetrical stinger, LT 1015 mm, some wear and traces of rubbing and oxidation, otherwise exceptional condition for this extremely rare National Reward saber, France, Directoire period. Family provenance. Saber once belonging to Jean-Antoine de Bry (1760-1834). A letter from Nicolas Boutet, director of the Manufacture de Versailles, recently unearthed from the family archives, establishes that this saber was made for Joseph-Antoine de Bry, who was successively: deputy of the Legislative Assembly, then of the National Convention. Having changed his name to "Debry" to avoid the suspicion that the particle could arouse, he sat on the Comité de Salut Public and voted for the death of Louis XVI. In 1794, he joined the Thermidorian reaction and became a member of the Comité de Sûreté Générale. Under the Directoire, he sat as a deputy for Aisne on the Conseil des Cinq Cents, of which he was elected president in 1796. Appointed Minister Plenipotentiary at the Congress of Rastatt, he continued his career by being named Director. During the Tuscan campaign (1799), he narrowly escaped death after his carriage was attacked by a party of Hungarian cavalrymen, who killed his two companions, Claude Roberjot and Antoine Bonner d'Alco, and seriously wounded Debry. He supported the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire An VIII, which brought Bonaparte to power and ensured that the Aisne authorities rallied to the new regime. Appointed Prefect of Doubs, then raised to the rank of Baron d'Empire, he was dismissed under the First Restoration and had to go into exile in Belgium, where he remained until Louis Philippe came to power in 1830, allowing some of the exiles to return to France. Debry died four years after his return from exile, and is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. Expert : Hervé MATOUS