Marriage Contract Between Jean Baptiste Claude Allevin, Gunmaker, and Barbe Françoise Bernard, Paris, July 13, 1759

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although their works were highly regarded and influential across Europe, remarkably little is known today about the lives and careers of the leading gunmakers of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France. This marriage agreement provides welcome biographical information on Jean-Baptiste Claude Allevin, a celebrated Parisian gunmaker, and his family. The document indicates that his father and a paternal uncle were both gunmakers, as was Pierre Descheaux, a family friend and witness to the contract. At the time, Allevin had not yet become gunmaker to the king and to Monsieur, the king's brother.

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