A flintlock pistol by Chasteau a Paris

dating: Second half of the 18th Century provenance: France, Iron barrel, provided with rib at the back, with foresight and signed 'CHASTEAU A PARIS', then a big, non-legible, trophy finely worked in relief, surrounded by lances and standards, hold by two characters and surmounted by a mask enriched with garlands; the three sides of the breech with remains of racemes engravings and a mythological character with flames crown. 15.5 mm cal. at the nozzle. Tang with another, non-clearly-legible character. Lock with slightly-round plate. Tang with racemes in relief. The central area engraved with a character wearing a laurel wreath and driving a carriage drawn by dogs. The cartouche with the signature 'CHASTEAV A PARIS' on the lower side. Hammer and batterie with fine, floral decorations and masks in relief. Working mechanisms. Wooden full stock with small restorations at the front. Fine, marked, silver mounts. Butt-plate shaped as a bird's beak, with marks and decorated with a vase. Counter-plate with grotesques. Horn-tipped, wooden ramrod. Probably François-Alexander Chasteau, from Paris, documented up to 1784 as 'Armurier du Roi'. length 42 cm.