Superb pair of Regency period pistols. - Lot 123

Superb pair of Regency period pistols. Finely engraved flat-body flintlock locks. Barrels flattened then round towards the muzzle with a slight bead (cal. 15 mm). Decorated with scrolls and birds in gold relief on the thunderbolts and around the barley grains, they are blued throughout. Long shafts and molded stocks. Rich silver fittings (hallmarked) with rocaille-style repoussé decoration, the pommels adorned with busts of men and women in profile, and trophies of arms. Original rods. Very good condition. Signed " JEAN GRIOTTIER ", Saint-Étienne, second quarter of the 18th century. L. (barrels): 25 cm. L. (total): 40 cm. History : Jean Griottier's name is well known in gunmaking and collecting circles. He belonged to a line of harquebusiers from Saint-Etienne (17th-18th centuries), and his weapons, for gentlemen and princely courts, were most often destined for export. In 1743, he completed an order for the Dauphin's Dragons regiment: 20 carbines, 215 rifles and 301 pistols. The Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Saint-Etienne acquired a similar pair of pommel pistols from Binoche & Giquello at Drouot on June 15, 2009. Provenance Baron Ribeyre sale, Drouot, April 6, 2016, lot 137 (sold for €9,997).