Miquelet Lock Pistol end 17th c

[AHorsa]

Originally Posted by Philip

For what it's worth, Der Neue Stöckel puts Barbagli's Brescian domicile in question. The pistols you posted are of characteristic central Italian style, not Brescian. In Agostino Gaibi's book where they are illustrated, the caption only states that the barrels are Brescian; furthermore unsigned and in the author's opinion probably remounted. On the locks, the exceptionally tall stem of the cock, with the little scrollwork below and to the rear of the lower jaw, indicates origin in the region of Umbria. The long, somewhat angular handles with small bulbous butts are typically central Italian, 17th-18th cent.

Oh I overlooked this statement. Thanks for clarificatoin and thanks for the other example images! The lock indeed is nearly identical.
Sadly, allocating the pistol to cental Italy means that Paolo Francese (or one of the other two, certainly isn´t the maker of this gun.
Is there still any possibility to assign the initials "P.F."?

Kind regards
Andreas

[Philip]

Originally Posted by AHorsa

Is there still any possibility to assign the initials "P.F."?

Kind regards
Andreas

Aha, a nagging question. Since the Middle Ages, Italian armorers often used only initials to identify themselves on their works. The same with the makers of gun locks and barrels. In some cases, the letters arranged and embellished in idiosyncratic style can be identified when compared with other corroborating evidence. Such as C.L.P. on some central Italian barrels, "Cristoforo Leoni in Pistoia", second half 17th cent. However, other instances are a mystery as of now, absent any other data and references. There is bound to be confusion when there are more than one artisan who had the initials working in the same region, city, and era.

I am faced with this conundrum at present with a piece in my collection, a hunting rifle built on an Austrian damascus barrel signed by Johann Schifter, 1690s, with typical Italian stock and everything else fitted to it. The Roman-style lock is marked only with D P on the inside of the plate. The trouble is that the only possibilities I have seen are two gunsmiths who had workshops in Rome, ca 1700, Domenico Principi and Domenico Politti. No facsimile of their "signatures" is contained in the only reference book that I have on them, and it seems that for many makers, the complier got information from documents such as municipal tax records that just mention names and occupations, not showing the actual markings on the objects themselves.