Spanish Miquelet Lock

rickystl · 26th July 2020, 07:53 PM

Hello again.

Here is another lock to add to my collection. Nice, large lock for an 18th Century Spanish fowler. Here is the original auction description:

The lockplate engraved along the edges with floral decoration, a gold-inlaid crowned maker's mark "ANTONIO NAVARRO", and marked "EN MADRID" under the cock spring. The cock moderately decorated, the rear of the frizzen with repeated signature and marked "1779". A well maintained lock with intact mechanics. Length of lock plate 12.2 cm. Provenance: Christie's London, The W. Keith Neal Collection.

A visual inspection shows the auction description to be accurate. The lock is very well made and functions flawlessly, and shows very little usage. The decoration is done well but not over-done. Very happy with this one. Comments appreciated, and thanks for looking.

Rick

rickystl · 26th July 2020, 07:55 PM

MORE PICS.......

Oliver Pinchot · 26th July 2020, 08:17 PM

Beautiful lock, congratulations. Impressive provenance as well.
W. Keith Neal was one of the best antique gun collectors of the 20th century:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Keith_Neal

fernando · 26th July 2020, 08:39 PM

Great lock, great lock smith ... and great ex-owner.
Congratulations, Rick

.

Philip · 26th July 2020, 10:48 PM

Congratulations!

Provenance: W Keith Neal is the author of Spanish Guns and Pistols (1955), a pioneering reference on the subject in English and unsurpassed until James D Lavin's A History of Spanish Firearms a decade later.

The maker: Antonio Navarro (Nabarro in the spelling of the era) flourished in the 1790s and started out as a student of court gunsmith Miguel de Zegarra. On barrels, his countermark is a sailing ship, below the punzón seen on the plate of your lock

The lock: very good design and craftsmanship, worthy of Navarro's status on the short list of esteemed Madrid gunsmiths compiled by Isidro Soler, who along with Nicolás Bis who had quasi-legendary status in the trade.

What I find distinctive about your lock is the shape of the plate, specifically its "tail". Downward-canted and with a rounded terminus. This shape is typical on patilla locks of this type seen on Portuguese guns; it seems to be a stylistic carry-over from the the lockplates of an earlier type of flint mechanism originating in that country, called fecho de molinhas. Compare with the forms of "tail" encountered on Spanish-made locks -- straight with rounded end, or pointed in the French style are the most common (German versions of miquelet locks often have squared off tails; the lock had something of a following among sportsmen there at the turn of the 18th cent.)

Perhaps this lock was made with the Portuguese market in mind. The profile of the cock with its long tapering jaws is also consistent with Lusitanian taste of the time, when prevailing Spanish (and Neapolitan) style tended to shorter jaws.

Fernando K · 27th July 2020, 12:12 AM

Hello

The lock presented is "three fashions", mentioned by Lavin and documented in a document from the Palace. First, because it saves from the classic miquelete the firing system, horizontal with chocks and the frizzen scratched- Second Because it takes from the lock "à la Francesa" the bowl with its flange in one piece, and not as in the miquelete, which has a false flange that hides the frizzen spring. Third. Because the frizzen spring is in sight, and on top of the real spring as in the lock "a la romana", although the orientation is different, as in the miquelete.

Here importance has been given to the shape of the tail of the platen, as intended for the Portuguese market. There are numerous examples of Spanish miqueletes, with these characteristics and it is generally linked to the position of the safety wedge, which acts at the bottom of the leg curve.

Affectionately

26th July 2020, 07:53 PM	#1
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	Spanish Miquelet Lock Hello again. Here is another lock to add to my collection. Nice, large lock for an 18th Century Spanish fowler. Here is the original auction description: The lockplate engraved along the edges with floral decoration, a gold-inlaid crowned maker's mark "ANTONIO NAVARRO", and marked "EN MADRID" under the cock spring. The cock moderately decorated, the rear of the frizzen with repeated signature and marked "1779". A well maintained lock with intact mechanics. Length of lock plate 12.2 cm. Provenance: Christie's London, The W. Keith Neal Collection. A visual inspection shows the auction description to be accurate. The lock is very well made and functions flawlessly, and shows very little usage. The decoration is done well but not over-done. Very happy with this one. Comments appreciated, and thanks for looking. Rick Attached Images

26th July 2020, 07:55 PM	#2
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	MORE PICS....... Attached Images

26th July 2020, 08:17 PM	#3
Oliver Pinchot Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 457	Beautiful lock, congratulations. Impressive provenance as well. W. Keith Neal was one of the best antique gun collectors of the 20th century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Keith_Neal

26th July 2020, 08:39 PM	#4
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Great lock, great lock smith ... and great ex-owner. Congratulations, Rick .

26th July 2020, 10:48 PM	#5
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	Congratulations! Provenance: W Keith Neal is the author of Spanish Guns and Pistols (1955), a pioneering reference on the subject in English and unsurpassed until James D Lavin's A History of Spanish Firearms a decade later. The maker: Antonio Navarro (Nabarro in the spelling of the era) flourished in the 1790s and started out as a student of court gunsmith Miguel de Zegarra. On barrels, his countermark is a sailing ship, below the punzón seen on the plate of your lock The lock: very good design and craftsmanship, worthy of Navarro's status on the short list of esteemed Madrid gunsmiths compiled by Isidro Soler, who along with Nicolás Bis who had quasi-legendary status in the trade. What I find distinctive about your lock is the shape of the plate, specifically its "tail". Downward-canted and with a rounded terminus. This shape is typical on patilla locks of this type seen on Portuguese guns; it seems to be a stylistic carry-over from the the lockplates of an earlier type of flint mechanism originating in that country, called fecho de molinhas. Compare with the forms of "tail" encountered on Spanish-made locks -- straight with rounded end, or pointed in the French style are the most common (German versions of miquelet locks often have squared off tails; the lock had something of a following among sportsmen there at the turn of the 18th cent.) Perhaps this lock was made with the Portuguese market in mind. The profile of the cock with its long tapering jaws is also consistent with Lusitanian taste of the time, when prevailing Spanish (and Neapolitan) style tended to shorter jaws.

27th July 2020, 12:12 AM	#6
Fernando K Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 669	Hello The lock presented is "three fashions", mentioned by Lavin and documented in a document from the Palace. First, because it saves from the classic miquelete the firing system, horizontal with chocks and the frizzen scratched- Second Because it takes from the lock "à la Francesa" the bowl with its flange in one piece, and not as in the miquelete, which has a false flange that hides the frizzen spring. Third. Because the frizzen spring is in sight, and on top of the real spring as in the lock "a la romana", although the orientation is different, as in the miquelete. Here importance has been given to the shape of the tail of the platen, as intended for the Portuguese market. There are numerous examples of Spanish miqueletes, with these characteristics and it is generally linked to the position of the safety wedge, which acts at the bottom of the leg curve. Affectionately