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Two Percussion Exhibition Pistols

Gunsmith Signed by Gilles Michel Louis Moutier-Le Page French
Decorator Decorated by Antoine Vechte French
Barrelsmith Barrels by Léopold Bernard French
dated 1849 and 1851
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 375
Commissioned by the renowned Paris gunmaking firm of Le Page, these are the only known pistols executed by Antoine Vechte (1799–1868), a virtuoso silversmith, sculptor, and chiseler, who was famous in his day as the "nineteenth-century Cellini" in reference to the accomplished Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini. The pistols are unique in their all-steel construction and in the variety of highly original Renaissance-inspired figural ornament. One of the pistols (acc. no. 2013.514.2) was probably not finished when its companion (acc. no. 2013.514.1) was shown at the French Industry Exhibition in Paris in 1849. Instead, it appears to have been completed by Vechte in London, to which he had emigrated. It certainly was featured at the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in London in 1851, where Vechte received a prize medal for his collective achievements.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Two Percussion Exhibition Pistols
  • Gunsmith: Signed by Gilles Michel Louis Moutier-Le Page (French, 1810–1887)
  • Decorator: Decorated by Antoine Vechte (French, 1799–1868)
  • Barrelsmith: Barrels by Léopold Bernard (French, Paris, active 1832–70)
  • Date: dated 1849 and 1851
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Steel, gold
  • Dimensions: 2013.514.1: L. 16 in. (40.7 cm); L. of barrel 10 1/4 in. (26.1 cm); Cal. .45 in. (11.4 mm); 2013.514.2: L. 15 7/8 in. (40.3 cm); L. of barrel 10 1/4 in. (26.0 cm); Cal. .46 in. (11.7 mm)

  • Classification: Firearms-Pistols-Percussion
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Ronald S. Lauder Gift, 2013
  • Object Number: 2013.514.1, .2
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Percussion Exhibition Pistol, Gilles Michel Louis Moutier-Le Page French, Steel, gold, French
Percussion Exhibition Pistol
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1851
Percussion Exhibition Pistol, Gilles Michel Louis Moutier-Le Page French, Steel, gold, French, Paris
Percussion Exhibition Pistol
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1849
Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun, J. C. A. Brun French, Steel, wood (walnut), gold, French, Paris
Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1866
Double-Barreled Percussion Shotgun, Louis Perrin French, Steel, wood (walnut), silver, French, Paris
Double-Barreled Percussion Shotgun
Louis Perrin
Léopold Bernard
dated 1854
Pair of Percussion Target Pistols Made for Display at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, 1851, Alfred Gauvain French, Steel, wood (ebony), gold, French, Paris
Pair of Percussion Target Pistols Made for Display at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, 1851
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1851

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