Pair of Flintlock Pistols

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

There are four Paris silver marks on this pair of pistols’ cast silver mounts, all of which date from the period 1809-19. The unidentified maker’s mark (in a lozenge the initials LB flanking a cross-like device), which may be that of L. B. Beaugeois, a jeweler recorded at 11 rue Chabanais, Pairs, whose mark is registered in 1810-11, also appears on several gold mounts of the Museum’s fowling piece by Nicolas Noël Boutet (Acc. No. 42.50.7). The mounts of the pistols and fowling piece share in common heavy, space-filling floral and scroll ornament, and both have stocks combining inlays of metal foil and wire. The style of both the pistols and fowling piece, in absence of specific Empire motifs, suggests the period of restoration of the monarchy in France following the fall of Napoleon in 1815. The shape of the pistols’ butts returns to the more traditional eighteenth-century style, probably a conscious rejection of the squared butts found on pistols made during the Empire (for example, Acc. No. 28.196.1a, b, .2a–l), and a reaffirmation of a style identifiable with the Ancien Regime.

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