Original Early French Officer’s Flintlock Horse Pistol Signed P IACTVES with Engraved Brass Mountings – circa 1760 Original Items

Original item. Only One Available. This is a lovely early French Officer’s flintlock horse pistol, dating to approximately 1760. It is highly decorative, with a lovely carved stock and some great engraved and embossed brass mountings, which show a lovely mellow patina. These include a lovely “long eared” butt cap which is octagonal in shape, and has an octagonal retaining pin as well. The other fittings show a similar angled motif, including the ramrod pipes and trigger guard. The rear of the wrist bears a lovely shield shaped escutcheon, which is highly engraved.

The pistol is marked on the “banana” shaped lock plate with what believe reads P IACTVES, which we assume is the maker, but we have not been able to find any information regarding them. We assume we are reading it right, but it is possible due to wear that some letters are partial or missing.

The stock bears carved floral embellishments around the barrel tang and ramrod throat, and there are also carved raised areas around the fittings and metalwork. There is however definitely some damage to the stock, which shows evidence of past crack repairs. Many of these are around the lock plate, which currently has a crack near the lower rear, the runs almost to the trigger. We have not attempted to repair this, as it is part of the history of the pistol, and it is somewhat typical due to the carving process removing wood around that are, resulting in structural weakness.

The metalwork on the pistol is in good shape, with the lock showing a nice aged polished patina, while the barrel has mellowed to a lovely brown color. There is not any major active oxidation that we can see. We checked the lock action, and it does work, but it will not hold securely at half cock. The pistol is fitted with a ramrod, but it looks to be a relatively recent replacement with a brass end fitting.

A lovely French Flintlock pistol with some great research potential. Ready to display!

Specifications:-

Year of Manufacture: circa 1760
Caliber: .61″ Pistol
Ammunition Type: Lead Ball & Powder
Barrel Length: 12 1/4 inches
Overall Length: 19 inches
Action: Flintlock Side Action
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded

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