Italian Flintlock Pistol with 3 Barrels, Italy 1680

Description of the Product

This Italian flintlock pistol from c. 1680 features a unique three-barrel design. An Italian gunsmith Michele Lorenzoni made some magnificent pistols for the Medici court, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Lorenzoni was the probable inventor of a system that bears his name,a popular breech-loading repeating mechanism developed for flintlock guns in the third quarter of the seventeenth century. It was the most reliable technology for creating a practical multi-shot firearm before the perfection of revolver mechanisms in the mid-nineteenth century. The barrels are revolved by hand, and in the original, the lock had to be cocked and primed between each shot.

Cosmopolitan in their decorative approach, Lorenzoni’s guns often show clear signs of French influence, with decorations derived from Parisian pattern books and formal characteristics inspired by contemporary French firearms. These include symmetrical, spiraled serpent-headed tendrils, acanthus leaves, exotic birds, and grotesque masks.

Three barrels and magnificently ornate carved ivory grips, the pistol truly was equal in splendor to the Medicis. The finely chiseled foliate scroll-work, heraldic escutcheon, and a faun’s mask on the butt in high relief, all make this a lovely piece of renaissance art. One original can be found at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

This replica has faux-ivory grips.

• This gun is an exact replica of the original. The replica matches the original in size, but may be slightly lighter in weight. The mechanisms of the weapon are working. The weapon can be cocked and dry fired like a real one. Due to the materials used, the mechanisms cannot withstand continuous cocking and firing for long periods.
• Genuine wood and cast metal has been used to make this replica weapon. Zamac differs from steel in many respects, so the structure of the gun does not withstand pressure, it cannot be used to fire bullets, nor can it be converted to a functional weapon by any means.
• Replica guns such as this do not require permits in Finland, nor in many other countries. However, since the gun looks real, it should not be carried in public.
• A replica gun is perfect for historical re-enactment, on a theater stage, in film productions, for collectors of historical memorabilia, and as decoration.
• Length: 29 cm
• Weight: 880 g
• Manufacturer: Denix, Spain

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