Designs for the Decoration of a Percussion Pistol

Eusebio Zuloaga

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This sheet and two others in the collection (acc. nos. 2015.99 and 2015.100) are rare examples of finished design drawings for the decoration of firearms and edged weapons created in the workshop of Eusebio Zuloaga, gunmaker to the Spanish monarchs, keeper of the Royal Armory in Madrid, and the most famous Spanish metalworker of the mid-nineteenth century. This sheet records the decoration created for various parts of a highly elaborate cased pair of all-steel percussion pistols with accessories, which was made in the Zuloaga workshops in Madrid or Eibar. The set of pistols was stolen from the Higgins Armory Museum (Worcester, Mass.) in 1978 has never been recovered. These designs, therefore, provide invaluable evidence of the color and beauty of the missing originals.

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