Hi Michael,
yes i imagine it would take some pages to get a conclusive report on this matter, but a worthy cause i presume.
The pistol is said to be of possible Dutch origin, but i have my doubts. Like a true proud Dutchy i know some historical dates, like the start of the Golden age in 1585 after Antwerp was defeated by the Spanish.
After this many of the important southern Dutch people immigrated to the free north. Before this date, most skilled weapon makers did live in the southern part like Antwerp. Also the fact that the barrel was made by a Spanish maker, Diego de Caias, would sugest a different origin on this piece (since most trading routes between countries at war are al but gone).
The book i got this picture from is Wheellock Firearms of the Royal armouries by Graeme Rimer, page 37.
The pistol used to be decorated in a far superior way than the current state would sugest.
My best guess would be that the whole pistole was made in Spain. The lock has similair decoration like those on the barrel. Also one of the surviving bone plaques has a man in Tudor costume, with spanish beard and all.
I will make some better pictures of the decorations.
The gilded and ivory covered pistol is indeed inverted, i got it like this from the internet but forgot to invert it back.
