This is something I posted on another site, I thought it might be of interest here. It is marked Matska, a russian maker on the side lock, but Michael MacIntosh recalls it being marked Lebeau on the rib. This gun is in the government arsenal at St. Petersberg.
Mr. David Trevallion asked me to post some comments on The Alexis gun I made in a letter to him after an inquiry to me about the stylistic contents of the pictured firearm which apeared in DGJ.
The structure of this school of ornament is Rococo.This particular style bears some simplified resemblance to Louis XVI, which apeared in France more than one hundred years before the manufacture of this gun. There are a number of examples of firearms decorated in Louis XVI in the Museum of Weapons in Liege. Various makers in France used engraving of this sort at times beginning in the mid eighteenth century,among them LePage and Boutet, and many other makers, continuing through the nineteenth century.
There were some English Makers who had engraving done in this manner, and there were english engravers such as Harry Tomlinson who worked in Baroque and Rococo structure as well as more conventional " English" schools.
One feature that is notable is the fine scroll behind the Rococo elements on this gun. This distinctly seperates it from Louis XVI and brings us to a much more recent period in history. This change is reminiscent of Corombelle, the great Belgian engraver of the early twentieth century.
The obvious continental influence in the engraving may indicate manufacture and decoration possibly in Belgium, France, or Russia, as the russians loved french luxury goods and were very influenced by them and imported many french workers,,think Faberge, as an example of french influence on russian luxury items..
_________________________
