OFFICER'S FLINTLOCK PISTOL - Italy. First half of the 18th century. 34605

OFFICER'S WHEELOCK PISTOL - Italy. First half of the 18th century. 34605

Walnut wood stock carved with ornate gilt brass fittings: grotesque finial, trigger guard, ramrod pipes, sideplate, and thumbpiece all intricately decorated and engraved. Slightly embellished and engraved steel lockplate at the lower edge with the gunsmith's name in small capital letters: "C.NICOLINI." Finely engraved square-back barrel with decorative ring at the breech, flat surfaces stamped with a gilt cartouche bearing the master gunsmith's mark "F.BONAFINI," followed by a second gilt cartouche depicting a horse or a dog. Eleven decorative floral motifs are stamped around the periphery.
Total length: 48.5 cm; barrel length: 31.4 cm; caliber: 15 mm.

Italy.
First half of the 18th century.
Very good condition, later ramrod.

PROVENANCE:
Former PM collection.

NOTE:
C NICOLINI: The surname of the gunmaker Nicolini (sometimes spelled Nicolin or Nicolino) refers to a family of artisans, master gunsmiths, and gunners mainly active in two major arms manufacturing centers in Northern Italy in the 18th century. In Brescia - Gardone Val Trompia in Lombardy, the largest arms manufacturing center of the Republic of Venice. Many members of the Nicolini families worked on locks, barrels, or firearm assemblies for the civilian and military markets. And in Turin in Piedmont. This particular piece features finely engraved touch-holes on the barrel, gilt brass inlays with shield-shaped stamps, typical of gunsmiths from Brescia.

F BONAFINI: The name BONAFINI (sometimes associated with the initial "F.") corresponds to a family of gunmakers and gunners from Brescia in Northern Italy, in Lombardy. Rifles and pistols signed by Pietro Bonafini or marked with initials like F. Bonafini are documented for the early to mid-18th century period (around 1710–1760).