Pair of Miquelet Pistols
Signed and dated colonial Spanish firearms are extremely rare. These pistols are in the Peninsular Spanish style, which was popular in Spain by the 1740s in reaction to the strong influence in court circles of English and French firearms. Based on the type of wood used for their stocks, the Pintan pistols appear to have been produced in the New World, probably Mexico, by a Spanish-trained gunsmith. The basic shape of the stocks is reminiscent of pistols from Ripoll, a major exporter of firearms to Spanish colonies in the New World.
Artwork Details
- Title: Pair of Miquelet Pistols
- Gunsmith: Signed by Francisco Pintan (Spanish or Mexican, possibly active in Mexico, mid-18th century)
- Date: dated 1757
- Culture: Colonial Spanish, probably Mexico
- Medium: Steel, wood (family leguminosae), silver
- Dimensions: L. of 2011.361: 10 7/8 in. (27.5 cm); L. of barrel of 2011.361: 6 in. (15.2 cm); L. of 2011.362: 10 5/8 in. (27.2 cm); L. of barrel of 2011.362: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
- Classification: Firearms-Guns-Miquelet
- Credit Line: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2011
- Object Number: 2011.361–.362
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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