Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun

Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun

Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun. Barrelsmith: Léopold Bernard (French, Paris, active 1832-70). Culture: French, Paris. Dimensions: L. 44 1/8 in. (112 cm). Engraver: Jean-Claude Tissot (French, Paris, 1811-1889). Goldsmith: Designed and steel chiseled by François-Auguste Fannière (French, Paris, 1818-1900); Designed and steel chiseled by François-Joseph-Louis Fannière (French, Paris, 1822-1897). Gunsmith: J. C. A. Brun (French, Paris, active 1849-72). Date: dated 1866. The Second Empire (1852-70) marked the twilight of French gunmaking, which had dominated the design of European firearms since the period of Louis XIV. Parisian gunmakers consistently employed the finest contemporary designers, silversmiths, sculptors, and engravers to transform functional hunting and target weapons into works of art. This exquisitely decorated shotgun reflects the period's predilection for historical revivals--in this case, the style of Louix XV. Especially noteworthy is the harmonious combination of Rococo ornamental vocabulary and blue-and-gold coloring, which together evoke eighteenth-century taste. Exhibited by Brun at the Exposition Universelle of 1867, the gun is actually a collaborative work by several of the leading artists and craftsmen of the time: the damascus twist barrels are by Léopold Bernard; the overall design and the intricately chiseled steel mounts are by the goldsmiths François-Auguste and François-Joseph-Louis Fannière; and the delicate engravings on the barrels and mounts, encrusted in two-color gold, are by the engraver Tissot.

Steel, wood (walnut), gold

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Model: No - Property: No
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3276 x 4094 px | 38.4 MB

27.7 x 34.7 cm | 10.9 x 13.6 in (300 dpi)