- Not actually Thor -

Greetings weary travelers of tumblr, I am Not Thor Odinson or Oliver, which ever you prefer really?
Home /Ask/ Submit/ About me/ Archive

Pair of snaphaunce pistols, circa 1690

Matteo Cecchi, called Acquafresca (Italian, 1651–1738)

Matteo Acquafresca was one of the most original, talented, and sophisticated Italian gun makers. His mastery of relief-chiseled and engraved steel, not only for firearms but also for small objects like snuff boxes, was unsurpassed. Although he worked in the isolated Italian hamlet of Bargi, near Bologna, Acquafresca was aware of current northern, particularly French, fashion through engraved pattern books. This pair of pistols is comparable in design and execution to the best contemporary Parisian examples, yet the snaphaunce mechanisms, belt hooks, and ornament give them a distinctly Italian character.

Like all Acquafresca’s finest pistols, this pair is stocked in ebony, the dark wood serving as the perfect foil for the bright steel mounts and silver wire inlay. Ornament abounds on every surface, and subtly different motifs–masks, birds, fantastic beasts, human figures—decorate each of the pistols. The facing male and female busts chiseled in low relief on steel plaques set into the grips are perhaps an allusion to a dynastic alliance. Finely worked and imaginatively conceived, these pistols were surely created for the pleasure of one of the gun maker’s known patrons, who included Cosimo III, grand duke of Tuscany, and other members of the cosmopolitan Medici court in Florence.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tagged: #Snaphaunce #Pistol #flintlock #Gun #firearms #weaponry #17th century #arms and armour

7:53:02 @ 8/18/2012
217 notes

  1. hrafnarnir reblogged this from notactuallythor
  2. screwthisurl reblogged this from das-genum
  3. angelsheroesandcrime reblogged this from das-genum
  4. das-genum reblogged this from captaincalahaan
  5. captaincalahaan reblogged this from notactuallythor
  6. darkomens reblogged this from notactuallythor
  7. somethingclassymaybe reblogged this from everythingpermitted
  8. kalimarii reblogged this from thecakebender
  9. thecakebender reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  10. mastertofu reblogged this from askgarpandsengoku
  11. butterfliesandstrawberry reblogged this from askgarpandsengoku
  12. askgarpandsengoku reblogged this from jeavert
  13. candy-rococo reblogged this from illuminati-bullshit
  14. necropoborealis reblogged this from tildemo
  15. tildemo reblogged this from adivzero
  16. east-india-company reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  17. amelia-mermaid reblogged this from thewindwaker
  18. thewindwaker reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  19. sirsammichman reblogged this from octopusboat
  20. illuminati-bullshit reblogged this from octopusboat
  21. bexelated reblogged this from octopusboat
  22. octopusboat reblogged this from azwoodbomb
  23. the-rose-red-pirate reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  24. kitsunenoyume reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  25. skeithdestroyer reblogged this from waitkc
  26. mazzykeepsintouch reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  27. blanska reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  28. king-of-the-huldufolk reblogged this from danskdanish
  29. joryr reblogged this from thepursuitofepicness
  30. thepursuitofepicness reblogged this from capngrimbeard and added:
    These are my kind of guns, Sief :D
  31. jess-likes-booty reblogged this from mowiie
  32. waitkc reblogged this from luzvimindarepublic
  33. mowiie reblogged this from capngrimbeard
  34. danskdanish reblogged this from kirklandscourgeofthesevenseas
background: transparent