A flintlock pistol ... with a Portuguese lock.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by rickystl

Hi Philip.
Much agree. Even with the wear, it is still well marked and has a wonderful profile.
Rick

There's something else I just noticed about the profile of the lockplate. It's the "wasp-waisted" shape that originated and which predominated throughout the 17th cent. in Spain and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies before the more streamlined French type plate virtually replaced it in 18th-19th cent. Madrid. However, note how the tail, with its rounded terminus, tilts downward at an angle.

This downward tail appears to be a Portuguese variant. There are at least seven examples on Portuguese patilha locks on guns in the exhibit catalog ESPINGARDARIA PORTUGUESA / ARMURERIE LIEGEOISE (Daehnhardt & Gaier, 1975), including a gorgeous chiseled example by Malaquias José da Costa. The da Costa lock, despite its late date (1820) and its English-style anti-friction rollers and Frenchified decorative motifs, is otherwise true to its Iberian roots, even to the long cock jaws at an obtuse angle, baluster stem, and otherwise very conservative proportions.

Looking over the published examples of Spanish locks with Ripoll and "provincial" style plates, I find that the tails tend to just stick out straight, with either rounded or triangular termini. (I'm becoming convinced that the square ends may be trans-Alpine, since you see just about all of these on Austrian or south German-made miquelets, but that's a topic for another thread).

Yes, Fernando, some pics of your lock detached from the gun will be welcomed!