The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Flintlock Dueling Pistol

Art Object

The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education

As part of a special Sunday at the Met program held in conjunction with the exhibition Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, Dirk H. Breiding, Assistant Curator, discusses challenges faced by the Arms and Armor Department, including widespread misconceptions and the difficulties of displaying weapons and armor that were rarely intended to be viewed in a museum.

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Special thanks to Kaos Historical Media for the use of their footage.

Video/Audio (6)

Dressing in Steel: Part One
(00:37:39) 678 views

Dressing in Steel: Part Two
(00:20:04) 271 views

A Visit to the Armor Galleries
(00:30:21) 4358 views

Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department, 1904–1929
(00:30:12) 226 views

The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education
(00:33:09) 320 views

Curators, Collectors, and Dealers: The Growth of the Arms and Armor Collection, 1929 to the Present
(00:36:37) 207 views

Flintlock Dueling Pistol

Simeon North (American, Middletown, Connecticut, 1765–1852)

Date:: ca. 1815–20
Culture:: American, Middletown, Connecticut
Medium:: Steel, engraved and inlaid with gold; silver, wood, horn
Dimensions:: Length, 15 3/4 in. (40.01 cm) Barrel length, 10 in. (25.4 cm) Caliber, .56 Weight, 2 lb. (907 g)
Classification:: Firearms
Credit Line:: John Stoneacre Ellis Collection, Gift of Mrs. Ellis and Augustus Van Horne Ellis, 1896
Accession Number:: 96.5.149

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 372

Description

This is one of a rare pair of American dueling pistols in the English style (its mate is also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection, acc. no. 96.5.36). North was the first contractor of military pistols made for the federal government following the Revolution.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: Inscribed on top of the barrel: Connecticut; above the breech plug, in a gilded oval, stamped: S. NORTH Middletown, Conn. The number 23 is stamped on the under side of the barrel.
See also
Who
Simeon North (3)
What
Metal (59,364)

Engraving (17,386)

Silver (14,056)

Gold (12,457)

Arms (9,344)

Iron and iron alloy (6,952)

Iron alloy (3,389)

Steel (3,119)

Firearms (1,112)

Locks (486)

Horn (423)

Small arms (378)

Handguns (326)

Pistols (326)

Flintlocks (175)

Snaphances (175)
Where
North and Central America (81,404)

United States (78,109)

Connecticut (253)

Middletown (16)
In the Museum
Arms and Armor (13,084)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The United States and Canada, 1800–1900 A.D.

The United States, 1600–1800 A.D.

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The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education

Flintlock Dueling Pistol

Simeon North (American, Middletown, Connecticut, 1765–1852)

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The Art of Arms and Armor: Challenges of Research, Display, and Education

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Flintlock Dueling Pistol

Simeon North (American, Middletown, Connecticut, 1765–1852)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store