AN IMPORTANT 20 BORE FRENCH ROYAL FLINTLOCK LONG HOLSTER PISTOL MADE FOR CHARLES XI, KING OF SWED

AN IMPORTANT 20 BORE FRENCH ROYAL FLINTLOCK LONG HOLSTER PISTOL MADE FOR CHARLES XI, KING OF SWEDEN (1655-97), BY PIRAUBE AUX GALLERIES DU LOUVRE A PARIS, DATED 1676 with blued barrel formed in four stages, the forward section signed `Piraube aux Galeries du Louvre a Paris 1676` in gold damascene on a long flat decorated with further damascened scrollwork, fitted with silver fore-sight, damascened with a classical trophy-of-arms at the muzzle, and a pair of monsterheads attacked by serpents hanging in scrolls of foliage ahead of the median, the latter formed with an engraved shaped panel flanked by a pair of damascened captives seated upon further trophies, the breech of octagonal then polygonal form, decorated in gold damascene with foliage, pellets and the full crowned Royal Swedish Arms (the bluing faded and with losses), the underside of the breech stamped with the barrelsmith`s mark, the letter `M` in a rondel, engraved tang decorated with monsterhead scrolls of foliage and border ornament, rounded lock chiselled with scrolls of foliage issuant from a classical vase and signed `Piraube` twice on the tail, engraved with border ornament, delicate scrolling tendrils inhabited by an archer and inscribed `aux Galleries a Paris` beneath the pan, the brim of the pan chiselled with a grotesque, fitted with chiselled cock decorated with leafy tendrils, a serpent head, a green man mask on the comb and retained by a further mask-shaped screw (the top-jaw and screw replaced), steel chiselled with a symmetrical arrangement of leafy tendrils issuant from a green man mask, figured walnut full stock (an early working replacement of circa 1730-40), impressed with the letter `K` next to the trigger-guard, carved with a raised moulding over the fore-end, a spray of foliage ahead of the trigger-guard and further scrolls and shell ornament about the tang, steel mounts comprising side-plate pierced and chiselled with a central moustachioed mask dividing an arrangement of scrolling monsterhead tendrils inhabited by a pair of differing herms, spurred pommel engraved with a pattern of rondels and foliage around the border, chiselled on each side with a symmetrical design of scrolling monsterhead tendrils issuant from a green man mask against a recessed gilt ground, the front and the back chiselled with further masks and engraved with monsterhead scrolls, fitted with a small finely chiselled grotesque mask cap supported by a pair of gold damascened Classical figures seated upon Classical trophies and surmounted by a Classical bust portrait, engraved trigger-plate, trigger-guard with an early inventory number `P No 1` chiselled with a further mask on the bow, the forward baluster issuant from a gaping mask and the finial chiselled with scrolling tendrils on a recessed gilt ground, a pair of moulded ramrod-pipes, the rear decorated with a gold damascened angel, pierced and engraved escutcheon damascened with the crowned Royal Swedish Arms, and steel-tipped ramrod, perhaps the original, and remaining in fine condition throughout (the damascene with small losses, areas of light wear) 53.3cm; 21in

Provenance Charles XI, King of Sweden An American Private Collection

Literature John F. Hayward, Bertrand Piraube, in Livrustkammaren 15, no.5 (1980), pp.129-132, figs 12-14.

The pair to this pistol is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 1990.114.2).

These pistols are Bertrand Piraube`s earliest dated work. The late John Hayward identified three levels of quality by this maker of which the present pistol belongs to the highest. Piraube has been described as the most important figure in the decorative development of French firearms in the latter part of the 17th and early 18th centuries. On 25th January 1670 Louis XIV granted him a brevet de logement in the Galleries du Louvre. This appointment, which was confirmed in March the following year, established Piraube as primus inter pares amongst the gunmakers working for Louis XIV. In Germain Brice`s Description de la Ville de Paris, published in various editions between 1698 and 1718, he was described as a gunmaker who produced pieces of rare beauty. His period of tenure in the Galleries to Louvre (1670-1720) was the longest of any gunmaker. Working within the precincts of the Royal Palace freed Piraube from the restrictions of the Parisian Guilds and consequently he was able to employ as many apprentices and journeymen as his commissions required. It comes as no surprise that a significant number of the great European Ancestral Gunrooms have firearms by him. The present pistol and its pair illustrate a number of aspects of the designs of Louis XIV`s chief designer, Jean Bérain. For a further discussion of this maker and his work see John F. Hayward (op.cit.), and Thomas Del Mar Ltd, 9th December 2009, lot 266.

Charles XI (1655-97) succeeded to the throne at the age of 4 in 1660. He excelled in the chase and was a fine horseman, as recorded in both his and other members of the Royal Family`s diaries. The present made to him by the French Ambassador at his coming of age in 1672 comprised twelve magnificently caparisoned Spanish thoroughbreds, complete with an equal number of pistols and guns, of which Piraube made one pair of pistols and one fowling piece. The present pistol, and its pair, must have been ordered within two years of this gift, allowing for the time lag in construction. A smaller pair of pistols, with silver barrels and mounts, decorated in almost an identical manner to the present pistol, are preserved in the Royal Armoury, Stockholm, (inv.no.4072, 4073). Given their size they were probably intended for a lady, and the materials used would suggest that they were made more for display than use.

The letter `M` within a rondel beneath the breech is stamped on a number of French firearms of this period, including another pair of pistols and a gun by this maker, a pair of pistols by Masson, and a gun by Varnier all preserved in the Livrustkammeren, Stockholm (inv. nos. LRK 4334, 4335, 3626, 3627, 10036 respectively).

See J. F. Hayward 1963, pp.32-47; the same author 1980, pp. 118-157; N. Drejholt1996, pp. 136-139 and S. J. Pyhrr 1991, p. 24.