A CASED PAIR OF FRENCH 50 BORE PERCUSSION RILFED TARGET PISTOLS SIGNED DEVISME A PARIS, NO. 929, MID-19TH CENTURY with octagonal sighted barrels (light wear and pitting) rifled with ten grooves, engraved with scrolling foliage and numbered ‘1’ and ‘2’ in gold over the respective breeches, engraved tangs decorated and numbered en suite and incorporating the back-sights, signed stepped flush-fitting border-engraved locks, fitted with hammers decorated en suite (one hammer nose repaired) and detents, figured half-stocks with carved fore-ends and fluted butts, engraved steel mounts decorated en suite, including spurred trigger-guards and moulded butt-caps, and no provision for ramrods (some wear throughout), in a later case with embossed copper flask decorated with foliage, 24.2 cm barrels (2)

Composed of several subsidiaries, the Drouot Group is a major player in the art market. Hôtel Drouot, located in the heart of Paris, has been the world's largest public auction center since 1852. 15 salerooms are available to more than 70 auction houses. The emulation generated by an annual offer of 230,000 artworks from 21 major specialities - from Antiquity to street art - attracts some 3,000 visitors every day. The Group's digital platform, Drouot.com, offers digital sales - Live auctions (live broadcasting and participation in auctions), Online-only auctions (dematerialised auctions) and Buy Now sales (sales of lots at fixed prices). Nearly 2 million items are offered annually by 600 auction houses. Auction news is reported every week in La Gazette Drouot, the leading weekly magazine for the art market and culture published by Auctionspress.