Pair of Flintlock Pistols (c. 1670): Art, History and Details

Pair of Flintlock Pistols (c. 1670) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Pair of Flintlock Pistols
• Date: c. 1670
• Culture: Italy, Brescia, 17th century
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: steel, chiseled decoration with walnut stock
• Dimensions: Overall: 45.1 cm (17 3/4 in.); Barrel: 27.6 cm (10 7/8 in.); Bore: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1916.52

A detail from the museum

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.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 4, 17th to 19th century and a few pieces of iron work. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].
• Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
• Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.