Flintlock Fowling Piece Given by the Empress Catherine II of Russia to the French Ambassador

1745 and 1763

Russian, Tula

Under Catherine the Great of Russia the arms center of Tula produced many luxury firearms after the Western European style for use at court and as diplomatic gifts. This fowling piece was part of a set of hunting weapons given by the empress to the French ambassador Louis Charles Auguste le Tonnelier, Baron de Breteuil, in 1763, commemorated on the gilt face of the lock plate. The earlier date of 1745, engraved under the front spring on the lock, shows that the gun was older at the time it was given and perhaps redecorated. The barrel is a remarkable tour de force of a technique, called goldschmelz in German, whereby the barrel was acid etched with a pattern, filled in with gold, and then polished and blued to create a brilliant contrast.

Status: On View, Gallery 239
Department: Applied Arts of Europe

Artist: Ilya Salishchev
Title: Flintlock Fowling Piece Given by the Empress Catherine II of Russia to the French Ambassador
Place: Central Asia (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1745–1770
Medium: Steel, gilding, silver, walnut, and horn
Dimensions: L. 150 cm (59 in.) Barrel L. 110.8 cm (43 5/8 in.) Wt. 7 lb. 7 oz. Caliber .60
Credit Line: George F. Harding Collection
Reference Number: 1982.2305
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/106444/manifest.json

Walter Karchieski, “Arms and Armor in the Art Institute of Chicago” (Art Institute of Chicago/Little, Brown, and Company, 1995), p. 111 (ill.)

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.