diff --git a/openevolve/database.py b/openevolve/database.py
index f06786cf4..bcaad6b60 100644
--- a/openevolve/database.py
+++ b/openevolve/database.py
@@ -2660,7 +2660,9 @@ def get_artifacts(self, program_id: str) -> Dict[str, Union[str, bytes]]:
         # Load small artifacts from JSON
         if program.artifacts_json:
             try:
-                small_artifacts = json.loads(program.artifacts_json)
+                small_artifacts = json.loads(
+                    program.artifacts_json, object_hook=self._artifact_deserializer
+                )
                 artifacts.update(small_artifacts)
             except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
                 logger.warning(f"Failed to decode artifacts JSON for program {program_id}: {e}")
diff --git a/tests/test_artifacts.py b/tests/test_artifacts.py
index 5ccbce55f..0095f2a71 100644
--- a/tests/test_artifacts.py
+++ b/tests/test_artifacts.py
@@ -90,6 +90,15 @@ def test_store_small_artifacts(self):
         program = self.database.get(self.program.id)
         self.assertIsNotNone(program.artifacts_json)
 
+    def test_store_small_bytes_artifacts(self):
+        """Test that small bytes artifacts round-trip as bytes"""
+        artifacts = {"blob": b"\x00\x01binary"}
+
+        self.database.store_artifacts(self.program.id, artifacts)
+
+        retrieved = self.database.get_artifacts(self.program.id)
+        self.assertEqual(retrieved, artifacts)
+
     def test_store_large_artifacts(self):
         """Test storing large artifacts to disk"""
         large_content = "x" * (50 * 1024)  # 50KB