When it comes to fine 17th century firearms, the Cabinet d’Armes of King Louis XIII of France (1601-1643) is incredibly significant. It is arguably the most important arms collection in history, containing an impressive variety of arms with diverse ornamentation. The Victoria & Albert Museum credits the young French king as “the first real European gun collector,” but he was far more than just a collector. As the surviving pieces of the Cabinet d’Armes clearly demonstrate, Louis XIII was a patron of the art...the art of arms making. He was an aficionado fascinated by the evolving technologies, the elements of style and the varying forms. He also had a practical, hands-on, field-tested understanding of much of his collection as he used them in nearly all of his hunts. Leonid Tarassuk noted “… one of [Louis’] favorite pastimes was examining, taking apart, cleaning, and reassembling firearms in the quiet of his cabinet. The king’s enchantment with arms was well known and earned him the nickname ‘Louis l’Arquebusier’” (see “The Cabinet d’Armes of Louis XIII: Some Firearms and Related Problems,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, Volume 21, 1986). This stunning work of art was meticulously crafted around 1620, and the fact that it survives is extraordinary considering it is over four hundred years old. Through those four centuries, France has seen periods of extreme turmoil, including multiple revolutions and numerous wars. It is difficult to comprehend just how far back 400 years in history is. 1620 places this gun’s creation just a few years after the death of William Shakespeare in 1616, a century following the death of Leonardo da Vinci in 1519, one hundred and seventy-three years prior to the execution of King Louis XVI in 1793 during the French Revolution and over two centuries before Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on Saint Helena. When this gun was first held by King Louis XIII, the King James Bible was less than a decade old, and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) were actively working to uncover the many mysteries of the universe. Their famous counterpart, Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), would not be born for another twenty-two years. When the young king first laid his eyes on this incredible firearm, his kingdom barely had a foothold in the New World, and his control of France itself remained uncertain. English colonization along the eastern seaboard of North America likewise had scarcely begun. In fact, the pilgrims on board the Mayflower sailed for the New World that same year in August, and it would be over a century and a half before the American and French Revolutions. During the latter, much of the valuable property of the French monarchy and nobility was notably looted, both by French revolutionaries and later by troops from Napoleon’s adversaries. Many of the pieces of the Cabinet d’Armes were thus dispersed, some forever lost. Louis XIII’s reign came during a remarkable period in history and an important transitional moment in firearms technology, which witnessed the transition from the matchlock, snaplock, and expensive and complex wheellock mechanisms, to the new state of the art French designed flintlock which would dominate firearms technology until the advent of the percussion system two centuries later. During this era of innovation, wheellock firearms remained among the preferred arms for wealthy, noble sportsmen that could afford them, including Louis XIII, but the flintlock became dominant more broadly. His reign was also part of a transitional period in the design and artistry of arms with a shift from Germanic hegemony to increasing French dominance. This stunning wheellock sporting gun from his arms collection is certainly among the most incredible deluxe arms from the period and thus set an example for others to imitate. This magnificent wheellock sporting gun, #24 for the Cabinet d’Armes, dates to the early part of Louis XIII’s reign (1610-1643), just a few years after he wrested control from his powerful mother, Queen Regent Marie de' Medici, in 1617. His mother was a member of the powerful House of Medici, the patrons of da Vinci, the often credited inventor of the wheellock c. 1500. The Medicis had also been patrons of the famous artist Michelangelo in the 16th century, and during Louis XIII’s reign, Marie de' Medici herself was a very notable patron of the arts, in 1621 commissioning Peter Paul Rubens to paint the famous Marie de Medici Cycle for her new residence, Luxembourg Palace. 1620 was the same year as Louis XIII’s victory over troops loyal to his mother and other powerful nobles at Les Ponts-de-Cé which further consolidated his power. However, he still faced resistance to his rule, and his brother Gaston, Duke of Orleans, conspired against the monarchy and Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu in the 1630s. During his reign, Louis XIII also battled with the Huguenots and declared war on former French ally Spain in 1635, drawing France into the Thirty Years’ War. He rallied the French troops in the defense of Paris in 1636 and won notable victories against the Spanish over the next several years increasing French power, but the war continued on after his death in 1643. When this exquisite sporting gun was being crafted, Louis XIII had only just begun to build his remarkable arms collection. He had been fascinated by firearms from a very young age and began arms collecting as a young boy, receiving his first arquebus when he was three years old. He had seven firearms by the time he became king shortly prior to his ninth birthday in 1610 and had fifty firearms in his Cabinet d’Armes by the time he came of age at 13 in 1614. After he secured power, the collection continued to expand dramatically throughout his remaining years and contained hundreds of arms by the time of his death. His personal interest and patronage during the early 17th century helped drive stylistic and technical innovation, and the king’s tastes no doubt influenced the beautiful arms crafted in the period which themselves reflect the broader Baroque artistic movements. During Louis XIII’s reign, his Cabinet d’Armes was kept in the royal quarters of the Louvre. After his death, his Cabinet d’Armes remained the core of the royal arms collection as it was expanded by subsequent French kings up until the French Revolution. He was succeeded by his young son Louis XIV, the Sun King, who further consolidated the power of the French monarchy, became one of the most powerful men of the entire era and today remains the longest reigning monarch with 72 years and 110 days as King of France. He embraced the splendor of French arts, including fine arms, and also took personal interest in the arms of his military, which marked the first significant adoption of bayonets starting with plug bayonets for his fusiliers in 1671 and later the classic socket bayonets for the infantry. He added additional arms to the growing collection started by his father. Under his rule, French influence came to dominate the firearms market in Europe. One can imagine him visiting the Cabinet d’Armes like his father had before him to examine their beauty and mechanical ingenuity. The royal arms collection was cataloged along with the collection of royal furniture during the reign of Louis XIV. Work began in 1673 and concluded with 351 entries and over 700 items, including 500 firearms. The collection was inventoried again under Louis XV in 1717 and a third time under Louis XVI in 1775. The collection moved around in the late 18th century, and it has been said that the Cabinet d’Armes was in the Bastille, the Louvre, or the Garde-Meuble museum established by Louis XVI. In July 1789, revolutionaries pillaged the arsenal in Paris along with many of the gun shops, and are noted as taking serviceable arms from the Garde-Meuble. The remaining items in the collection were transferred in 1797 to the new Museum des Antiques de la Bibliotheque Nationale which later became the Cabinet des Medailles. The arms and armor were soon moved to the Musee d’Artillerie alongside pieces from the Bastille and other historical arms. However, after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo and the subsequent occupation of Paris, many pieces of historic French arms and armor were “purchased” or looted and sent back to the United Kingdom and Prussia as war trophies. The Napoleon Garniture sold by Rock Island Auction Co. in December 2021 for $2,875,000 was notably among the arms taken back to England and was placed on display at the Oplotheca. France underwent another major revolution in 1830, and the Musee d’Artillerie was targeted. French historian J. P. Reverseau wrote that when the cloister and museum were attacked “The pillage was total,” but that some “precious arms kept in closets” were spared, and many pieces were reportedly returned. Others remained in private hands and public collections, both in France and abroad. In the 19th century, France was faced with many further turbulent periods, including the Siege of Paris and Paris Commune during the Franco-Prussian War. During the latter, the Tuileries Palace, the imperial library in the Louvre and more were destroyed. French art, arms, and armor were also subject to losses in the first half of the 20th century during both World War I and World War II from bombardment and looting. However, the French people’s love of the arts saved many of the precious works, and they were packed and hidden away to be protected for future generations. Since the end of World War II, a few pieces of the Cabinet d’Armes have appeared available for purchase, always generating considerable interest. Some of the most incredible pieces from the collection remain protected in institutional collections, others have been lost to time, and only a small number remain in private hands. This incredible wheellock is marked “24” on the underside of the stock ahead of the trigger guard. Numbers stamped at this location are noted in “Decorated Firearms, 1540-1870” by Gusler and Lavin as from the first inventory of the royal arms collection begun in 1673. This number has allowed location of its entry in “Inventaire Général du Mobilier de la Couronne Sous Louis XIV (1663-1715)…Deuxieme Partie” by Jules Guiffrey in the section of “Armes et Armures de Diverses Sortes” on page 45 as: “24 - Une belle arquebuze de 4 pieds 4 pouces, le canon rond par le milieu, le bout et la culasse à six pams, enrichie d’or et d’argent de rapport et de diamans d’acier, le bois aussy enrichy de pareils ornemens.” The entry translates to: “24 - A beautiful arquebus of 4 pieds 4 pouces, the barrel round in the middle, the end and the breech with six pams, enriched with gold and silver and steel diamonds, the wood also enriched with similar ornaments.” As noted in “The Cabinet d’Armes of Louis XIII: Some Firearms and Related Problems” by Leonid Tarassuk, "almost all the descriptions and measurements were not correct or exact,” and later inventory measurement often varied. That is certainly the case here as this beautiful sporting gun measures closer to 58 5/8 inches from muzzle to heel. The gun has a smoothbore octagonal to round two-stage barrel and is profusely decorated throughout with silver and gold damascened ornamentation. The decorative theme differs between the round forward section and the octagonal breech section. The breech section is decorated with foliage inhabited by creatures of the forest, mythical beasts, various masks, a pair of winged figures at the breech, and decorative urns, while the decoration on the forward section primarily features three scenes featuring classical female nude figures with buildings in the background as well as expansive foliage in silver and gold. The first of the figures is a voluptuous woman holding a dove, and a lamb is by her side. The second figure is also buxom and stands below a crescent moon holding an hourglass in her left hand and a piece of fruit in her right. The third figure is notably more slender and holds in her left hand scales and a sword in her right and is accompanied by a bird grasping a piece of fruit. These figures perhaps represent the Horae: Eirene (Peace), Eunomia (Good Order), and Dike (Justice). The barrel is fitted with a blade front sight set at the muzzle and a rectangular tunnel rear sight. The long iron barrel tang has foliate engraving against a gilt background. The polished flat beveled lock of French form has an exposed wheel with the outer face engraved with scrolls inhabited by two mythical heads and two snakes at the base and a small gilt iron fence intricately pierced with scrolls. The engraved maker’s mark “FP” is signed between the priming-pan and pan button. The lock plate is chiseled with a mythical animal head on the sprung priming pan cover. The lower edge of the priming pan is superbly chiseled with decorative bands, and the tail of the lock plate has a gilt section which is finely engraved with scrollwork. The dog-spring is engraved with further scrollwork and file-cut with flutes terminating in chiseled scrolls. The dog features a turned baluster form stem, parcel gilt four-leaf clover screw-head with each leaf displaying a small gold-inlaid heart, a finely chiseled gilt urn linking the dog-spring to the base of the dog, and the upper part of the stem chiseled and gilt in the form of a Corinthian column capital. The upper jaw is fixed while the lower jaw moves on the jaw screw, and the back edge and outer faces of the jaws are finely engraved with a bird and scrollwork and the jaws overall in the style of a stylized hippopotamus. The extraordinary steel mounts feature engraved, pierced, and gilt foliage decoration. The trigger guard, protecting the leaf-shaped trigger, comprises a finely engraved and pierced flat plate with a border of stylized running foliage, plain cylindrical stem extending to a turned baluster form finger rest with alternating gilt and silver-inlaid decorative bands. The trigger plate has pierced panels and engraved borders en suite with the trigger guard, a leaf-shaped foliate engraved forward finial, a polished cut-steel beveled plaque next to the trigger, and a small silver-inlaid panel chased with foliage at the rear of the tang. The side plate features a pierced central roundel en suite with the trigger guard and trigger plate against a blued steel backing plate, and two silver- and gold-damascened stems from the roundel for the lock retaining screws which each have a fluted head. The intricately pierced heel plate also features a blued steel backing plate. The figured full-stock is inlaid with numerous shaped, engraved, and pierced panels decorated en suite with the principle mounts and alternate between gilt and polished finish and among them are the “steel diamond” accents noted in the royal collection inventory. The decoration comprises four barrel key escutcheons interspersed with four decorative plaques on each side of the forearm, a larger plaque behind the ramrod entry, eight plaques around the rear of the lock, barrel tang, and wrist; and a further four plaques on the butt, including two larger plaques on each face of the butt beneath the cheek piece. These decorative plaques inset into the stock all have a stunning scarlet textile backing and a polished raised cut-steel beveled center. The stock is further ornamented with inlaid wire scrolls, flower heads, dots, and borders as well as bands of inlaid silver and silver-gilt ribbon. The later ramrod has a steel tip. The noted maker’s mark “FP” engraved on the lock-plate leads the gun to be strongly attributed to noted Parisian gunmaker Francois Poumerol. It is well-known that Poumerol made firearms presented to Louis XIII. He began his career c. 1590 in the era of matchlocks, wheellocks, and snaphances. A sporting gun and pistol presented by Poumerol to the king in 1631 was accompanied by a pamphlet and poem entitled “Quatrains au Roi” in which the gunmaker instructed the king on “the means of recognizing the goodness and vice of all kind of firearms and preserving them in their luster and goodness” and notably discussed wheellocks and also expressed his view that the snaphance was superior to the new flintlocks then gaining in popularity. He was writing seeking official royal patronage and indeed became a gunmaker to Louis XIII’s troublesome brother, the Duke of Orleans. During Louis XIII’s reign, wheellocks were particularly popular in France, but despite Poumerol’s claims, the flintlock quickly gained popularity and became the standard for European arms into the 19th century, largely replacing all earlier lock mechanisms. Additional noteworthy firearms attributed to Poumerol are contained within the Musee de l’Armee which contains a wheellock pistol and two wheellock arqubuses, (05010, 1000, and 2018.0.209). These are all elegant and include some similar attributes to the current piece but are ornamented to lesser degrees. Two of these have "FP" signatures in the same location on the locks as the current gun. Notably, in basic form, the present wheellock also has similarities to the significantly plainer wheellock, no. 5 from the Cabinet d’Armes, now in the Victoria & Albert Museum (603-1864) which is noted as fairly small and possibly made for Louis XIII as a boy whereas this example is full-sized as would be appropriate for the king as he approached the age of twenty and is elaborately embellished with extraordinary metalwork from muzzle to butt. Additional examples by Poumerol are found in the Royal Armouries (XII.1263-4), the Danish Royal Collection at Rosenborg Castle (7-137.147), The Odescalchi Collection in Rome (49-50), The Wallace Collection (A 1177), and the Museo Stibbert in Florence (3327). Firearms from the Cabinet d’Armes are rarely publicly available and highly sought after. Most of the known examples are among the foremost works of firearms art in major institutional collections, including examples in the United States at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Walters Art Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as others scattered across Europe. The Met’s impressive flintlock gun from makers Pierre and Marin Le Bourgeois is also dated to approximately 1620 and was purchased at auction a half century ago at the cost of $300,000, a price now over $2 million adjusted for inflation, a clear demonstration of the significance of Louis XIII’s incredible collection. Provenance: The Cabinet d'Armes of King Louis XIII of France; The W. Keith Neal Collection; The Norman R. Blank Collection

Very fine considering its age and in a remarkable state of "as found" original condition. The majority of the awe inspiring, intricate gold and age darkened silver remains on the impressive 3.5' foot barrel with a dark background and some faint oxidation. The lock remains mostly bright with some faint pitting around the bright gilt fittings and has crisp engraving and a distinct "FP" maker's mark. The mounts retain the majority of gilt finish with some age rubbing to the edges and high points with a gray patina to the balance. The blued backing plates retain nearly all of their bright original finish. The stock is fine aside from a crack towards the rear of the forearm which has pushed a section of the ramrod entry out of alignment and resulted in some loss to the wire inlay (some elements including a flower-head present), and a cracked rear portion of the cheekpiece. The inlaid plaques retain much original gilt finish. Overall the stock and mounts show evidence of an older protective varnished finish. The butt has a later wooden extension measuring approximately 5/8 inch between the end of the butt and the heel plate, this is almost certainly replacing an older piece as the heel plate is slightly larger than the existing end of the butt and is slightly recessed suggesting a decorative band may once have been fitted. The lock has not been tested. This is a truly magnificent work of firearms art from the famous Cabinet d'Armes of the first European gun collector: King Louis XIII of France. Chances to acquire pieces of early 17th century firearms artistry like this are scarce and fleeting. Do not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity!