Pair of Flintlock Pistols of Empress Catherine the Great (1729–1796)

Johan Adolph Grecke

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These pistols are part of a deluxe garniture of ivory-stocked hunting arms made for Empress Catherine the Great (reigned 1762–96), whose intial (E for Ekaterine) is on the escutcheons of the grips. The garniture, which originally consisted of these pistols, a fowling piece dated 1786 (National Museum, Warsaw), and a rifle (whereabouts unknown), was later given to her favorite, Prince Stanislas August Poniatowski (1732–1798), whom she backed as king of Poland (reigned 1763–95). Firearms with ivory stocks, generally out of fashion in western Europe by the eighteenth century, were in vogue in the ostentatious Russian court during the last quarter of the century.

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.

Metropolitan Museum of Art