Showcase 24. European armour and arms of the XV to XIXth centuries

The flintlock mechanism with a spark, used to ignite the gunpowder in the touch hole, was a major innovation in small arms design. Introduced in the mid-XVIth century the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock and wheellock mechanisms. It continued to be in common use for over two centuries, replaced by percussion cap and, later, cartridge-based systems in the early-to-mid XIXth century. The carbine and pair of pistols presented to Tsar Michael Romanov in 1630 by the Dutch trading agent Carl Demoulin have locks of this new construction. Along with technical improvement of firing mechanisms west-european arms' design, i.e. decor and forms, has been developing during the XVIth-XIXth century.

From the second half of the XVIIth century the French and more specifically Parisian armourers stood out among the European centers of arms-making for both technical perfection and artistic mastery. At the end of the XVIIIth century presentational arms were manufactured in the Versailles workshops under the supervision of the gunsmith Nicolas-Noel Boutet whose works are preserved in the Armoury Chamber.

The collection includes some hunting rifles and pocket pistols of the late XVIIIth century executed by English and Belgian makers who prevailed by then over Parisian gunsmiths in art of arms making.