Pair of Percussion Target Pistols Made for Display at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, 1851
Made by the Parisian gunsmith Alfred Gauvain (1801–1889) for display at the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in London in 1851, these pistols are masterpieces of iron chiseling in the Renaissance Revival style that was popular in mid-nineteenth-century design. Designed by the sculptor and ornemanist Michel Liénard (1810–1870), they were praised at the time as works of modern art that rivaled in beauty of execution many older firearms preserved in national museums. The inspiration for the lizards, snakes, and frogs amid vine branches was perhaps provided by Renaissance goldsmith's works (silver by Wenzel Jamnitzer of Nuremberg) and ceramics (French Palissy ware).
Artwork Details
- Title: Pair of Percussion Target Pistols Made for Display at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, 1851
- Gunsmith: Signed by Alfred Gauvain (French, Paris 1801–1889 Paris)
- Designer: Designed by Michel Liénard (French, La Bouille 1810–1870 Brussels)
- Barrelsmith: Barrels by Léopold Bernard (French, Paris, active 1832–70)
- Date: dated 1851
- Geography: Paris
- Culture: French, Paris
- Medium: Steel, wood (ebony), gold
- Dimensions: L. of each pistol 17 1/4 in. (44 cm); L. of each barrel 11 3/8 in. (28.8 cm); Cal. of each barrel .46 in. (12 mm)
- Classification: Firearms-Pistols-Percussion
- Credit Line: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Bequest, 2013
- Object Number: 2013.513.1, .2
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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Alfred Gauvain
possibly 1844
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1844
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1866
Louis Perrin
Léopold Bernard
dated 1854
Jean André Prosper Henri Le Page
dated 1829
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