NARRATOR: Look for the gun in this case with the scrolled butt, second from the top. Curator Stuart Pyhrr.

STUART PYHRR: This gun, made for Louis XIII, King of France, about 1620, is not only a technical marvel but a work of art. The fruitwood stock is gracefully carved at its butt, not with the usual square or angular end, but, rather, with a delicate scroll outlined by a copper leaf and buttons of mother-of-pearl. It glitters in the light. The decoration of the stock in silver and brass wire, engraved silver sheet and mother of pearl, includes the crown monogram, “L,” for Louis XIII, who, as young monarch, was not only an avid hunter but also a gun collector and amateur gunsmith. He was known to contemporaries as "Louis l'Arquebusier"—“Louis the Gun-Maker.”

NARRATOR: This beautifully crafted weapon was also one of the earliest firearms to use the flintlock mechanism. The flintlock was invented in France about this time—around 1620—and became the standard firing mechanism on most guns up until the nineteenth century. Press PLAY to hear more about how the flintlock mechanism works.