Cavalry pistol made by Claude Niquet à Liège
 

This flintlock pistol with the clear signature of Claude Niquet of Liège around 1715 on its lockplate shows a thumbplate with a very strange and for me unknown troop marking "G.G. / N°42". This pistol is very similar to pistols made by Francois Pholien Henoul and Johann Jakob Behr for the Prussian army but unfortunately the troop marking of this pistol and the crown are certainly not Prussian. I think it could be Dutch. Is anybody able to affirm this?

I’m not an expert on heraldry by any means but the crown looks like that of a Marquis of the French Ancien Régime?

Thanks a lot, I think you are right, this has been big help!!

Nice pistol. The shield and the dragon decoration are interesting details.

the simplicity in decoration shows that this is not a civilian weapon but a military weapon.
I expect this pistol was made for a division of the Dutch state army, it was customary to number the pistols, so at least 42 pieces of this Pistol were made.

The initials GG are those of the commander/owner of the relevant division or regiment.
The first G can stand for count (dutch Graaf = count) and the second G for the family name.

best,

Unit, not name
 

The No. 42 was necessary because there were at least 41 others.
Not even the wildest pistol fan would have 42 weapons with his initials marked!
So if it was a personal weapon and GG were his initials, the 42 would be redundant.

I.e. GG must surely be a unit, not personal initials.

Thanks a lot. This affirms my guess that this pistol was really made for a Dutch military unit in the years 1710 to 1720. Certainly it will be difficult to find out which unit this might have been but I'll contact the Netherlands Army Museum, may be that there will be some support.

your are most welcome.

By coincidence I found a small piece published about this in the magazine of the Dutch Association of Arms Collectors, wapenfeiten nr4 november 2020.
unfortunately in Dutch.

Many thanks for this - very interesting; this pistol once was part of my collection - a late meeting!! The explanation of the meaning of the two letters at the thumbplate is certainly hitting the nail's head. Now I have to find out which regiment in the Dutch army used the "G.G.".