An Ottoman ivory flintlock pistol, Turkey, 18th century

the pattern-welded steel barrel cut with a sighting flat and damascened in gold with floral sprays, stamped with the maker's name Kuchak 'Ali, the German steel lock inscribed 'Wagner', with an applied gilt-brass escutcheon and faceted pommel, probably Adriatic, engraved with swags and foliate designs, the stock faced with white ivory inlaid with triangular and diamond-shaped fields of minutely worked mosaic hexagrams, brass studs and red spots, the ivory ramrod held in place by a faceted gilt-brass band

A rare and important eighteenth-century Ottoman ivory pistol.

To the best of our knowledge this is the first appearance of an Ottoman ivory pistol on the market.  Its rarity is attested by the fact that only one other Ottoman ivory pistol is recorded: in the collection of the Topkapi Saray in Istanbul (see Tezcan, T., Silahlar, Topkapi Sarayi Muzesi: 9, Istanbul, 1983, p.21).  The elegant form, the profligate use of ivory, and the rich surface embellishment contribute to the exceptional character of the piece. 

There are two C.Wagners recorded: Carl Wagner, active Berlin 1706, and Carl Christian Wagner, active Saxony, Dresden and Warsaw circa 1754-64.  The style of lock suggests a date of around 1760 and, therefore, the work of Carl Christian Wagner.