A Nobleman’s Holster Pistol

This is an immaculate pistol of a quality rarely seen outside of a museum.

It features an ornately carved walnut stock, intricately engraved butt cap with grotesque mask, a two-stage 15.5mm swamped barrel, heavily scrolled lock and side plates and intricately engraved brass furniture. The forend and ramrod are tipped with deer horn.

The pistol has no maker’s mark, despite the inordinate amount of work by its maker. Clearly it was made for a nobleman of the period. Our research in Dutch and European firearms archives dates this pistol by its design, to the period 1680 to 1720.

There are remarkable similarities to the bevelled lock, barrel and furniture with pistols of the period made by the Penterman family of Utrecht (Hartman’s Dutch Gunmakers, Dr G DeVries & Drs B J Martens, page 69) and to Jan van Suilen of Amsterdam (The Visser Collection, Vol I Part 4, page 434).

As can be clearly observed from the video, this pistol was crafted  by an expert. The mechanics are crisp and audible and the pistol is in perfect working order.

This is a flintlock pistol collector’s portfolio centrepiece.