369 - A beautiful snaphaunce lock pistol

A beautiful snaphaunce lock pistol dating: Late 18th - Early 19th Century provenance: Tuscan-Emilian area, Two-stage, 13 mm cal. barrel, with smooth bore, square and round, divided by rings, the ends of the first segment and the nozzle with engravings. A fine lock with flat, slightly curved lock plate, the tang with an engraved floral ornament, the central part features a beautiful floral frieze, the hammer throw carved at the borders and engraved en suite. Comb shaped and engraved with a monster’s head. The head of the screw hammer with curly mask in relief; external hammer stop, inside the initials "FA". Wooden full stock in good condition (restoration to the shaft) and with sculpted elements. Beautiful and elegant steel mounts; the counterplate pierced and decorated with busts and floral motifs; butt-plate with grotesques and a central medallion in relief. Bone-tipped wooden ramrod and iron cartridge extractors. Hole for the saddle hook is now missing. See: for the type of plate, see an item in a private collection, signed by Cassiano Zanotti, dating from the late 18th century, with decorations very similar to the mask, the comb, the hammer throw, and the pan, illustrated in "Fuochi d’Anghiari" by D. Diotallevi, pp. 46–47.