A powerful flintlock holster pistol from the 17th Century, this firearm has clues to its manufacturer and possibly its first owner on the lockplate. Signed in a scrolling cursive, the words "Dug..nne Jeune", and "...a St. Etien" are legible, indicating with some certainty that this pistol is of French manufacture from the armory at St. Etienne. The smooth, two-section barrel is twist engraved in a faint floral spiral meeting the hard-chisel carved barrel top of a sunflower with other floral blooms. The tang is geometrically engraved.
Quite exceptional, the hammer lock and rear of the lockplate are deep-gouge engraved and filled with gilt, while the flash pan of the flintlock is made of solid gold, and the strike cover is deep-engraved with an eight-armed star with gilt. The wooden stock is complete with an ivory tipped ramrod held in two silver loops, and the grip is checkered-carved in a fine tight pattern, ending in a large oval at the butt end. The curvature of the hammer is quite unusual in its exaggerated ‘S' shape, and flows nicely.
Pistol Measures 20¼ Inches Overall with a 13⅞ Inch Barrel.
