Cleveland Museum of Art

Pair of Flintlock Pistols

Date

c. 1670

Medium

steel, chiseled decoration with walnut stock

Culture

Italy, Brescia, 17th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The chiseling of gun ornament is a task comparable to sculpture on a miniature scale, carried out in an extremely hard material. Since this was usually beyond the skill of most gunsmiths, it was not uncommon for such work to be contracted out as occurred here. While the barrels are signed P. Moretta , the lock plates of these pistols are signed Carlo Lerme , who also chiseled the mounts. This type of pistol fired only once before needing to be reloaded, so they were often produced in matched pairs. Even the trigger is decorated on these beautifully ornate weapons. Look closely to compare how a skilled craftsman carefully matched the patterning on these two guns.

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