EARLY 17TH CENTURY

細節

A Very Rare 28-Bore Early French Flintlock Holster Pistol
Early 17th Century
With lightly swamped octagonal barrel, plain tang, flat wheel-lock shaped lock-plate, cock with pronounced C-curve, peasecod steel with three positions, fruitwood full stock (repaired), fluted fore-end, octagonal pommel with iron button, iron mounts, iron trigger working on a pin above the tail of the lock-plate, iron fore-end cap, and wooden ramrod with later iron tip
22¾in. (57.8cm.)

出版

W. Keith Neal, 'The World's Oldest Known Flintlock Pistol?', Arms and Armor Annual, vol. 1, pp. 114-120

注意事項

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

拍品專文

According to the late owner (loc. cit., p. 120), this pistol was probably designed as a prototype made either to the order of King Louis XIII, or for presentation to him, by an enterprising gunsmith, and is likely to be the world's 'oldest surviving true flintlock pistol'

The form of the pistol closely follows that of a number of plain early wheel-lock pistols from King Louis XIII's Cabinet d'Armes, for example Inventaire no. 210 (Neal, loc. cit., fig. 2), and the lock mechanism is similar to, but arguably earlier in date than those of two of Louis XIII's flintlock guns, respectively by Marin le Bourgeois and his brother Pierre (Inventaire nos. 152 and 134) of circa 1610-20, in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (inv. no. F 281), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 1972.223)