Cleveland Museum of Art

Flintlock Pistol (2 of 2)

Date

early 1700s

Medium

steel with gold inlay, gilt-brass mounts; walnut burl stock; chiseled high-relief decoration

Culture

Franco-Flemish, Liège, early 18th Century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The barrel of this pistol is signed G. MASSIN, a gunsmith apparently working in eastern France or French-speaking Flanders, possibly the city of Liège. The exquisite ornament along the breech of the barrel is chiseled and engraved. The gilded lock-plate and mounts may be compared to the finest contemporary work in other media, such as furniture with ormolu mounts. The flintlock ignition system was developed in the 1600s and remained the dominant system until the early 1800s.

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