OTTOMAN MIQUELET PISTOL OF EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY

18" length with 11 1/2" barrel of greater thickness than usually encountered and bored to .63 cal., slightly smaller than usual. The breech with raised floral motifs and simulated signature ahead. Miquelet lock, probably Italian. See Held p.132. Walnut stock with fine silver butt cap, silver back escutcheon with two Mediterranean coral insets and nielloed central mount. Silver trigger guard. Brass side plate and ramrod pipes. Bone tipped dummy ramrod. The stock with intricate raised carving and silver wire inlay. Exceptional quality and demonstrating the complex construction of Ottoman arms which involved bring together elements produced in various manufacturing centers, largely in the Balkans, then exporting the product for further finishing and embellishment. Robert Elgood, in The Arms of Greece and Her Balkan Neighbors, breaks ground in unraveling the mystery of these arms which are based in European, primarily Italian models, but exhibit regionally diverse elements and decorative styles.