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#1 |
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Scotland
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Hi everyone, especially those who are more familiar with 18th century French gunsmiths than me. I recently bought this pair, dated about 1760, and very handsome they are too. The locks are signed Mardier Paris, at least that is the best I can make of it - the engraving is quite worn. The silver escutcheon is clearer - showing a crest of an open hand surmounted by a crown. I cannot find the name Mardier anywhere nor the crest. So any information that you forum colleagues can post will be gratefully received. Thank you.
Neil |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Scotland
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and a better one of the crest
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#3 |
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Location: Black Forest, Germany
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A foto of the gunmaker's signature would help a lot, because there is no "MARDIER" in France, but lots of "MERCIER"s and other names that could be possible.
corrado26 |
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#4 |
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Location: In the wee woods north of Napanee Ontario
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I found several families using this "hand", but this one stood out:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Lamont
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#5 |
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Thanks to Corrado and Will. The Lamont hand certainly looks persuasive though it lacks the crown and the 'eagle' supporters at the side. So....
Here are 2 photos of the signature; these are the best of the 4. As I said the lock plates are fairly worn. Neil |
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#6 |
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Hi Neil,
extremely beautiful couple! Mardier could also be the name of the owner, see for example page 10 of the attached publication of honored soldiers.the publication is from 1790, this corresponds nicely with the age of the couple. the raised hand may indicate that the owner has taken some kind of a (military) oath. It doesn't have to be a coat of arms. best Jasper https://books.google.nl/books?id=bvF...0paris&f=false Last edited by cornelistromp; 20th February 2020 at 02:04 PM. |
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#7 |
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Après le "Qui est Qui de l'Arme en France" I think, the gunmaker was Jean Baptiste MAZELIER 1726-1760. It was Perre Lepage who was apprentice at him between 1726 and 1730.
corrado26 |
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#8 | |
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if I look closer, I see that the e matches and the r does not. best, |
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#9 | |
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Location: Austria
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Anyhow, excellent aquisition! ![]() |
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#10 |
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Thanks again to Corrado and to Jasper. Now that I know that there was a gunmaker named Mazelier (which I did not know before) I can see that name in the engraved signature. Even so Jasper's list shows that the name Mardier did exist, though not necessarily in the gunmaking trade.
I still think that the escutcheon depicts a family crest/arms. The displayed hand is clearly not enough by itself to identify the owner so the surmounting crown and supporting eagles (?) have to be taken into consideration. Thanks to everyone for their comments. Neil |
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