A little pistol for comments

[celtan]

Hola Nando,

Michael suggested the french provenance.

Your portuguese source and me share similar opinions.

Zorry! The pistol's images I provided belong to a Spanish pistol found at an online auction service. Sadly, mine was not the winning bid, but I did keep the pictures for future reference.

Now, this one is mine (click on the thumbs) :











Portate mal!

: )

M

[Matchlock]

Hi Nando and Manolo,

I could not acccess the forum for two days because of server problems. Now here is what I found out.

I am still convinced that the decorative style of the pistol is French by origin although I cannot prove it. Neither am I able to name the basic differences between French and English flintlocks - sorry, Manolo, there are too many over three centuries of flintlock development. I could do this with sufficient material on matchlocks and wheel-locks but ... no, I won't dare that ...

Nando, I would date your pistol to about 1730-40 on the grounds of the banana shaped concave moulding in the lower edge of the rear part of the lock plate because this is an international dating criterion common to all flintlocks of the said decades.

I attach scans of Italian miquelets, and even one from Vienna, Austria proving that these locks 'alla catalana', and of mediterranean origin, as Arne Hoff put it (Feuerwaffen I, 1969, p. 233) were widely copied while the rest of those guns mostly kept their national characteristics.

Finally I found two Spanish pistols very close to Nando's in the firearms catalog of the Museo Arqueologico Nacional, so please enjoy.

Best,
Mike(y)

[Matchlock]

The Painting is called The Allegory of War and was sold in a German auction house in September.

Note the Spanish military musket stock and the blued iron parts of the gun.

Michael

[fernando]

Thank you so much for the exampling illustrations, Mike(y).
... and tanks for your view on the age attribution of my specimen.
Yes, pistola #49 has a cock foot similar to mine, which is not the (more)usual straight profile. Same goes for the frizzen spring.
Ah, the Brueghel painting; can you have it wrapped and sent over to my address .
Fernando

[celtan]

Hi guys,

I had similar problems accessing the forum.

Nando, have you checked Rubi's "Armamento Portatil Español"?

Best

Yo

[fernando]

Hi Manolete,

Originally Posted by celtan

... Nando, have you checked Rubi's "Armamento Portatil Español"? ...

Nothing of the kind, there.
It's all about large military stuff .
Nando

[celtan]

From a Borders bookstore book. It's dated to 1810...

M