FRANCE, second half of the 18th century - Lot 108

FRANCE, second half of the 18th century A. ROBERT Fine naval officer's pistol. Round-bodied flintlock brass lock, signed and engraved with an Amur seated in front of a martial trophy; flat-bodied, swan-necked hammer and white-polished iron butt cap adorned with fleurons or a flowering vase. Bronze barrel with wide arched sides engraved with a country trophy with birds, ringed, then round towards the muzzle. Smooth. Cal. 15 mm. Iron thundertail engraved with a drum. Crowned hallmark under the barrel. Fleur de lys hallmark and R (or H?) near the light. Long walnut shaft carved with flowers on the thunder and longstock. Silver thumbpiece (min. 800), decorated in the same way as the barrel, engraved with a mavelot, probably later. Rich silver fittings (950) with rocaille decoration: floral cartouche on the beak pommel, trigger guard with military trophies. Unidentified hallmarks [hammer - standing bird]. Horn ramrod with silver mounting (950). Barrel length: 18.9 cm - Total length: 33.2 cm - Total gross weight: 718 g. Scratches and knocks from use; two previously restored breaks at the stock and under the barrel, wood re-varnished; trigger guard plate slightly out of its cavity; small corrosion spots on the sides of the barrel; eavesdropping on the ramrod. Probably Antoine ROBERT (1722-1784), harquebusier in Saint Étienne.