Physical description
The walnut stocks are slightly carved with scrollwork and profusely inlaid with symetrically arranged scrollwork in gold wire. On the upper side of the butt is inlaid on one pistol a fleur-de-lis, and on the other, the cypher of Louis XV, King of France. The escutcheon plates of gold bear the royal arms of France. The steel mounts are chiselled in unusually high relief against a gold-plated ground, the ornament differing on each pistol.
Place of Origin
Paris, France (made)
Date
1750-1760 (made)
Artist/maker
La Roche, Jean Baptiste (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Carved walnut, blued steel, chased gold and silver, silver inlay
Marks and inscriptions
Les La Roches aux Galeries du Louvre
Cypher and coat of arms for Louis XV
Dimensions
Length: 50 cm, Width: 15.5 cm, Height: 6 cm
Object history note
These pistols were probably made for Louis XV, King of France (1715-74). They bear the Royal Arms of France and Louis' monogram and portrait.
The pistols are of exceptional quality. Their impact is entirely visual. They were designed to work but have never been fired and were probably never intended to be. On more restrained working guns the mounts combined practical necessity with decorative detailing. For these pistols the decoration provides their primary function. The stocks are so lavishly inlaid with scrollwork in gold wire that the walnut bases almost disappear. The locks and steel mounts are chiselled in high relief against a rich gold background with scenes from ancient mythology including Jason with the golden fleece and Hercules slaying the monster Geryones. The deep fire-blued barrels retain their original colour and are profusely mounted with chiselled gold war trophies.
The barrels are signed 'Les La Roches aux Galeries du Louvre'. Jean-Baptiste La Roche of Paris was one of the best gunmakers of the eighteenth-century. He was 'Archebusier du Roi' (Gunmaker to the King's) during Louis' reign and from 1740-42 was head of the Paris Gunmakers' Guild. In 1743 he was given an official residence in the Louvre where during his later career he worked with his son. Their workshop was renowned for its presentation firearms whose intended destination was the collector's cabinet rather than the hunting armoury.
Historical significance: Such pistols were made for Louis XV's own use or for presentation by him to a foreign royalty.
Historical context note
Technical demands on gunsmiths were considerable. They had to adapt established designs to awkward shapes that might form a range of components in a variety of materials. These then had to be assembled to create a single piece which had to perform a complicated technical role and withstand explosive forces.
As technical devices, guns attracted princely collectors. Louis' grandfather, Louis XIII is regarded as the first systematic firearms collector. Guns that survive from his Cabinet d'Armes, of which there are several examples in the V&A, are all marked behind the trigger with his inventory numbers. Louis XV was less systematic but knew the value of exquisitely crafted firearms as diplomatic gifts. A similar pair in the Palace of Capodimonte in Naples retains its original red morocco case lined with blue silk, possibly a gift from Louis to Prince Ferdinand, King of the Two Sicilies from 1759.
A flintlock fowling piece in the Bayerisches National Museum, Munich (W.2890), decorated almost en suite with this pair of pistols and evidently by the same hand, is signed 'Arault à Versailles'.
Descriptive line
Pair of Flintlock pistols by La Roche, gunmaker to Louis XV of France, French (Paris), 1750-60.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Hayward, J. F., European Firearms, HMSO, London, 1969 cat. 90
A guide to the Museum Collection of firearms first published in 1955. This edition includes a large number of illustrations and a complete text revision. The items described have been selected on the grounds of artistic merit and technical or historical interest.
Hayward, J.F., The Art of the Gunmaker, Volume 2, Europe and America 1660-1830, Barrie and Rockliff, London, 1963, pp. 270, 327, pl. 12 ill.
Patterson, Angus, "Power and Glory", Chapter, Medlam, Sarah, and Miller, Lesley Ellis, Princely Treasures: European Masterpieces 1600-1800 from the Victoria and Albert Museum, V&A Publishing, London, 2011, pp. 62-63
Exhibition History
Princely Treasures: European Masterpieces 1600-1800 from the V&A (National Museum of Korea (Seoul) 02/05/2011-28/08/2011)
Associated names
Louis XV (King of France)
Materials
Silver; Gold; Steel; Walnut
Techniques
Carving; Forging; Inlay
Subjects depicted
Scrollwork; Coats of arms; Trophies (motif); Jason; Fleur de lis; Hercules; Louis XV; Cypher
Categories
Metalwork; Royalty; Ceremonial objects; Arms & Armour; Accessories; Firearms
Collection code
MET
