A VERY DECORATED FLINTLOCK PISTOL FOR ID
 

A VERY DECORATED FLINTLOCK PISTOL FOR ID
This pistol seems made for the export market ,I never saw before something similar with all these decorations : grotesque mask ,lion head , etc..
Any information about his origin or maker would be highly appreciated

This pistol seems made for the export market ,I never saw before something similar with all these decorations : grotesque mask ,lion head , etc..
Any information about his origin or maker would be highly appreciated

A gunmaker TWIGTON in LONDON is unknown to me and not mentioned in the NEUE STÖCKEL too. So the origin of this pistol is somewhat mysterious the less so since there are no British proof- and viewmarks on the barrel. Although the front end of the triggerguard looks very English I think that this pistol has probably been made by a Liège gunmaker for the Osmanic Empire. Using names of English gunmakers was an old practise of the Liège gunmakers in order to simulate good English quality.
corrado26

I dare say that there will hardly be a description of this pistol origin more accurate than the one presented by corrado26.
In any case, a very, very nice pistol, Jean-Luc :cool:.
Say, are those some letters on the tang ?

.

Yes Corrado like you my guess is a pistol for export market , Fernando may be a date ? Please see this new pics

Hello

Generally the Belgian arms for export have the punch of the Bank of Liège, but to hide the origin they are in the lower part of the cannon. You would have to dismantle it and see what it is.

Affectionately. Fernando K

Yes, more like a number than a decoration floral. But then, even if it is a number or a date, could also be illusory :shrug:.

It Is a very nice and very different pistol Cerjak.
Very nice silver work and such.

Dating is rather difficult, as it ha selements popular from differing ages, like the heavy moulding around the trigger-guard, (earlier 18th C mostly, ) and the pineapple which is later, 1780's and on.
Then the style of the grip is more early 18th C but the sideplates for the sidenails say early 19th C.
I wonder, with the very nice decoration, Is there a chance it was made in India??
I ask as Tippu Sultan had very nice arms made for himself, so Indian craftsmen could certainly be up to the job.
It sounds like the maker had heard of Twigg, at any rate!

Very best,
Richard.

Yes indeed I would opt for India , with the name being a hybrid of Twigg and Manton perhaps.

I think it would help a lot to dismantle the barrel from the stock to see which marks are on the underside
corrado26

If ever there are any marks in there ...

Another reason to Think possibly India, is that the engraving on the pineapple finial does not look European, in fact the only engraving that does look European or English,are all the screws, and they are beautifully done, and possibly the side-plates, but the latter in design are more 17th C at latest in style.
I am not out to find fault, as I do like it, but so mixed in styles appears Eastern at any rate.
The lock looks a very competent piece, and has a good finish. I would like to see the lock internals and the mortise for it in the stock.

Best regards,
Richard.

Many thanks to all for the comments ,I will try to remove the barrel this weekend, I 'm also curious to know if there is any marks who could help for the maker identification .
Best
CERJAK
PS from the same place I bought this second pistol :
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23346

I have removed the barrel and lock but unfortunately there is no one mark who could help for the identification.

One more step and you remove the lock ... just to check :cool:

Fernando ,
Same for the lock no mark

A photo of the lock internals and lock mortise would be very much appreciated, Cerjak. :)

Best wishes,
Richard.

Dear Richard

This is the pics
It seems very strange that there is no one marks ,this pistol has many massif silver embellishment but the barrel and lock are not signed.
I'm wondering what was the purpose of the maker.
Best
Jean-Luc

It Is a very nicely made lock, Jean-Luc.

From the outside it looks English but I see it has a separate pan attached to the lock plate, so has to be either Continental, or a copy of Continental.
I wonder why the bushed hole for the pan retaining screw? It looks very clean and well done but a bit recent possibly?
Does the touch-hole have a liner fitted? .... I am wondering about a possible re-conversion to flint from percussion.
Does the engraving on the frizzen/steel & cock and rest of the piece?

The lack of markings on the barrel and lock still say this could possibly be Very high-end Indian work.
It is a lovely and well designed piece.
If possible at some time, please show us the mortise for the lock. Inletting tells us a lot about where a gun may come from.

Best regards,

Richard.

Yes, On looking again at your first photos Jean -Luc, I see the pan and cock show none of the patina we see on the barrel.
The pan and cock and frizzen appear to have been added more recently.
It is a high-end lock with lovely springs.
When this re-conversion was done I do not know, but it is a very tidy job.
This also opens up the possibility that the lock is a high-quality English trade lock, and the "continental pan attachment" could have come about in its re-conversion.

A lovely and enigmatic piece!!

Richard.

Hello

The thesis of a percussion conversion to flint has no handle. There is nothing in the canyon that has been percussion. The lock, with false cup, is consistent, if as we maintain, the weapon is Belgian or continental
The different coloration or patina between the barrel and the lock is due to the fact that the barrel has been cleaned of its rust, to highlight the silver incrustations, which become inexorably black with the passage of time. The presence of caries or pitting, next to the shiny metal, prove it.

affectionately Fernando K

Dear Fernando,

The lock would have originally been flint, and at some time altered to percussion, Then, later back to flint.
The easiest method of converting to percussion, is with the drum and nipple arrangement. This entails drilling out the touchhole to a larger size, tapping, and screwing in a drum containing the nipple.
This type of conversion was very common, and these days Many are being converted back, as a flint is worth more generally then a converted percussion piece.
I hope this clarifies what I was trying to say.

The patination on the barrel and the rest of the lock are consistent, and much more visible than on the (newer I think) cock , pan and steel, (or frizzen).
Yes you are very correct, a lock made in Europe very often had a separate pan fitted, as I said in my post above.

Kindest regards,
Richard.

Dear Pukka

What he manifests is imaginative. there is no record of the successive transformations.

Affectionately. Fernando K

Although tocayo, this is not the first time i hear about 'successive' modifications. I confess that this 'diagnosis' i once received for a pistol of mine was doubtful for me, but ...

Dear namesake

Of course, there are transformations. But in this case it is not theory, it must be demonstrated based on elements that are mentioned and that can be seen in the piece ...

A hug

Fernando K

Fernando K, my dear friend,

At times I am baffled by our use of a common language,
To me, it means one thing, to others something very different.

I will try again to say what I mean, and will thereafter in this case, "forever hold my peace". :)

What I have to say it this; The lock and barrel have the same patina.
The cock and frizzen And pan appear to not have this same patina, they look cleaner and newer to me. Not brand new, but newer.. The pan still has the milling marks on the inside.

To me, this can mean that these parts are Possibly replacements.

I will not go into Why they would be replaced, but logic dictates that they were either damaged or missing.

There my friend. I have done my best, and must leave it now.
I hope to at least to be understandable in what I say, and will not fall out if we disagree. :) :)
I am not saying I am right, this is just what I think.

Kind regards,
Richard.

Hi Cerjak.

WOW!!! What a beautiful pistol !! And a real curiosity.
It has styling cues of both earlier and later periods. Which is actually common for pistols made in/for the Eastern market. But this one is exceptional. The decoration, with it's face masks on the lock plate and barrel look like a mix of English and Indian. So the final assembly possibly in India may be as good a guess as any. The spurios "variation" of the Twigg name makes me think the pistol was not assembled in Europe. It does seem this pistol was commissioned for a specific customer. And the workmanship is top notch. The lock is very high quality, and certainly up to European snuff. I notice it has the bridless pan, an earlier feature. As Richard mentions, I too can see the difference in patina of the hammer, pan, frizzen, and even the frizzen spring. If they were replaced, it was certainly a first class job. The face of the frizzen looks like it has never seen a flint struck against it. Curious. But the one photo showing the vent hole does not, to me, look like the barrel had been altered previously. And the vent hole sits at the perfect position above the pan. Just my observations.

Again, it's a beautiful and super interesting pistol.

Rick

One other small item.
Notice the barrel tang screw, and lock plate screws are all pointed in the same direction. This was a common practice of the best gunmakers in the period.
Rick

Hi Rick

Thank you again for your comment,
About the barrel I can confirm you that the vent hole is not altered and so like you I believe that this pistol is not re-converted into flintlock.
Best
Cerjak

Dear Cerjak,

I can see the touchhole has no liner screwed in, as would be the case if altered back from percussion, But, the area of the touchhole has No patina either, in an area that typically has Much More patina (Rust & pitting) than anywhere else. Also, we see a different coloured metal around the touchhole, which to me says welding.

There is no other way to account for this, plus the cock, pan, and (frizzen)having no rust/pitting, Plus the frizzen having absolutely No wear, than that this pistols re-converted.

I am not trying to find fault, but this is as it is.
I would advise putting this pistol up on another antique arms forum, and see what they say.

Kindest regards,
Richard.

Richard

May be this pictures could help you .. I don't see any trace of welding
Best
cerjak

Therefore no trace of having once been drilled to introduce a percussion bolster, correct ? :o .

Hello everyone

I want to make some considerations: First the different coloring in the barrel and the plate of the lock and between the mobile pieces of the lock: the cock, the bread and the frizzen. The first ones can not be cleaned of their oxide by the presence of the incrustation in gold and platel The seconds can be cleaned / polished, because they have no incrustation and if engravings.

Second The mobile parts of the lock have been cleaned / polished. This is demonstrated by the frizzen screw, which retains the oxide in the engraving incisions. The same for the bread, which has rust on that engraved line, parallel to its surface and on the lips, which conceal the line of insertion with the plate

Third Here the lack of scratches of the stone in the face of frizzen has been commented. The pictures of post 1 and 3 show the frizzen, but out of focus and I think you can see something. Anyway, a gun received as a gift and precious, has had little use. Another cleaning test is found in the inner incisions of the two jaws, which in their drag have to have a raised triangle to take the leather or lead that covers the flint. I think they are not observed, and that they have been filed or emery past.

Fourth. The only element that would allow more precision, would be the stone screw. Its diameter and its pitch (threads per inch or per centimeter). I understand that in ancient weapons there was the "armero step", which does not match the current parameters.

All this I say for the photographs, that despite the good will of the photographer, they always have shortcomings and imperfections. It would be better to have the gun in your hand, like Cerjak .....

Affectionately. Fernando K

As mentioned, overall, the pistol looks like it has seen little if any usage. It certainly is one of the most interesting, and curious flint pistols I have ever seen, offering lots of speculation. And a very interesting Thread. Thanks for Posting.

Rick